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RE: [RC] Faster walk - K. P. RossDon't you think that some horses just have the forward reach and are more driven to walk faster from the get go. AND even though you can get a horse to speed up, the ones that are faster to begin with can always out walk the ones with the slower beginning . . . .? Any thoughts . . . kim from lakeport -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Sharon Levasseur Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2006 7:01 AM To: rdcarrie@xxxxxxx Cc: cherylrandyw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [RC] Faster walk Zephyr is living proof that this works. Spent one whole winter doing nothing but practicing walking faster (using Dawn's method) through the very deep snow we had that year. By springtime he had a 4.5 mph walk AND had begun to develop a nice foxtrot. Of course, he's half Rocky Mountain Horse so his conformation meant the tendency to gait was already there... just had to be found and developed. Building up those 4-beat walking muscles did the trick. -Sharon L. & Zephyr Quoting rdcarrie@xxxxxxx: Something I learned here on RC really works to speed up a slow walk. The horse's barrel will swing slightly from side to side as he walks. Watch for that rhythm, then gently bump his side with your leg to enhance that swing. As the barrel moves left, bump him lightly with your right leg...as if you're pushing the barrel further left. As it swings back to the right, bump with your left leg. It takes a bit to get the hang of it and get into the rhythm. If your horse breaks into a trot, bring him back to a walk and resume, but with lighter bumps. Sometimes just a tiny bit of pressue is needed. Experiment to see what works with your horse. You will feel the horse lengthening his stride, reaching up under himself with his rear legs, and moving out at a faster walk. This works great. Work on it every ride, and over time, your horse *will* develop a faster walk. I had a friend's gelding for about 6-7 months a couple of years ago, and did some 50s on him. He had a horribly slow walk. I worked on his walk a lot during training rides. When I sent him home, one of the first things she said was, "You've been working on his walk!" He still didn't have a super fast walk, but it was greatly improved. Dawn in East Texas (blessed with two horses with good walks now) -----Original Message----- From: Randy or Cheryl Winter <cherylrandyw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thu, 8 Jun 2006 06:58:24 -0600 Subject: [RC] Faster walk Hi Dave, Good luck with your young horse. I think that any healthy, able bodied, good minded horse can do the sport, the question will be to what level. That time and conditioning will tell you. As for the walk, I think that they can be taught to walk faster. Some of it will come as they get stronger, some have it more by nature, but some of it is a taught response. If they learn to walk slow and then trot to catch up, that is what they have learned to do. Another way to teach them, IMO, is to ask them to step up the speed at the walk with you legs until you get the response, then stop with the legs and reward them. The reward can be a pat on the neck "good boy" and stop with the legs. As SOON AS THEY BACK OFF THAT PACE DO IT AGAIN> Just keep telling them that "this is the pace I want". It will take much persistence on your part and being very clear, that the legs mean to go forward at any spend when asked. Eventually, you should not have to ask much anymore, they will learn that is what is wanted. The problem that most people get into is "nagging" the horse with busy legs and yet not getting the response they want and the horse gets dead in the sides. I can be guilty of that myself, and have to be careful. NOT GOOD. If I have a horse that I think is starting to tune out my legs, then I will put on a pair of the blunt English spurs and asked them with my legs once, then back it up with a spur nudge to be sure that they respond. Could use a dressage whip also to reinforce the signal. Does not take long for them to figure out what you want, but again, you have to be clear and consistent in asking, receiving, and releasing the signal. I think early on with inexperienced horses, don't rush them through bad footing just to walk fast. I would want them to learn to place their feet well and think it out rather than rush through tripping. Once they learn how to walk out and that is what you want, it can be a great way to make good time in bad terrain. Cheryl Winter =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. 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