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[RC] "A horse that can't be cantered is pretty useless" - Carolyn BurgessI love Standardbreds, that is my breed of choice for any sport. My current 50 mile horse is a 14 y.o. Standardbred who I got off the track at 9. Could canter in the field, but would not canter under saddle. I knew that when I bought him as a 50 mile prospect. It would take a long time for him to canter under saddle for 2 reasons: 1) He didn't have the muscles necessary to canter, and 2) In harness racing, horses that canter while working are punished. It took about a year of saddle work for him to develop the muscles to canter. It took another 3 years of bonding with him for him to understand that it was OK to canter while working. It was even desired by me. I did my first CTR in 2002. 25 miles, no canter. I did my first 50 in 2004, still no canter under saddle. I did 3 - 50 mile rides with no canter. When I would tell other riders that he did not canter under saddle, they
would ask me how can I ride 50 miles without that gear. Then they would see him on the trail and exclaim, "He doesn't need a canter!", as they would have to hand gallop behind me to keep up with his medium speed trot. These horses pace and trot in harness at speeds approaching 40 mph. Who needs canter when you can get that speed trotting. This guy now has one of the most powerful hand gallops you have ever seen. So just because a horse can't, or won't, canter, doesn't mean they are useless. Carolyn Burgess
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