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Re: [RC] Cantering - Truman PrevattMy old mare had a 6 mph walk, not running walk or any other intermediate gait but a honest to goodness walk. We probably cantered most of what we didn't walk simply because that was her most relaxed easy going gait. She would trot ( and had a pretty good one) some but we would normally only do that in transitions between the walk and canter. With a walk at that speed and a nice easy canter there was little need for the trot.That is also the way I rode her when I conditioned or hacked around. I think the important thing is to ride like you train. It really gets down to individual horse and how he/she is trained. The trot can be just as assymetric as the canter if the rider does not adaquetly change diagnoals regularly. If extened too much the trot can be hard of the front legs. A good easy rolling canter where the rider is consistent on changing leads can actually be an easy gait on a horse. I remember Nina Warrens old horse Ballad. He would go into a easy rolling canter which looked like it required absolutely no effort. Nine hours later he would stop the canter at the end of 100 miles. If I remember right Joe Long's wonderful little chestnut horse had a nice little rolling canter also. Truman Bruce Weary DC wrote: I'm sure some other senior riders are bound to chime in on this question about cantering, but here are my thoughts. In my experience, the staple gait for endurance riding is the trot. Cantering, except perhaps among the very well prepared and experienced front runners, is typically done very sparingly. Usually for short stretches to loosen the horse up or make up a bit of lost time. IMO, extensive cantering should not be chosen simply because it is more comfortable for the rider. Trotting is a symmetrical gait and thereby allows for more uniform muscle use in the horse, whereas cantering is an asymmetrical gait and there is a point in every stride where the horses weight is borne (if only for an instant) on one foot. To canter for the majority of even an LD ride, especially with a relatively inexperienced horse and rider, is a potential opportunity for injury through tendon/ligament overstrain. Presuming my experience is not markedly different from most experienced, moderate paced riders out there, I'll wager that I don't typically canter more than a mile or two total over the course of a 50. Anyone out there having a consistently different experience? Dr Q -- "Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true." - Bertrand Russell =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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