Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

	First, in my opinion, there is nothing at all wrong with a 7-7.5 mph 
trot, especially when a horse starts out!  Over the next few years as he 
builds up muscle strength and aerobic endurance he will probably be able 
to consistently trot a bit faster.  But, havng said that, there are lots 
of horses that prefer to canter.  I always think of Barbara Sanches' 
great horse, Tor who rarely trotted and retired sound with 4600 AERC 
miles.  He also usually top tenned but Barbara never raced him.  He just 
preferred cantering to trotting.  I rode for quite a few years with 
another horse who preferred cantering and his heart rate was lower at 
the canter than the trot.  So, my advice would be to quite worrying and 
start enjoying what you've got now and in a year or two assess how the 
horse is doing and what your goals are.  If you really want to go fast 
and the horse just isn't up to it, he'll be easy to sell!
Laney

Kristi Schaaf wrote:
> My endurance prospect trots slow and I'm picturing us
> out on the trail forever. So, some questions for you
> guys to see if I should be concerned or accept him the
> way he is. : - ) He prefers to trot about 7 - 7.5 mph
> and it feels like snails could pass us! If I ask for
> any faster, he would rather canter. This is very
> different for me because my retired distance horse
> happily trotted 9 - 10 mph and didn't like cantering
> at all (he's the type of horse who would continue to
> trot and still keep up with a cantering horse).
> Needless to say, I think he cantered about 100 yards
> total in over 1000 NATRC/LD miles. So I'm curious,
> those of you who finish at the back of the pack, how
> fast does your horse trot? Do you canter much at all?
> I'm wondering if I should just leave him alone or work
> on speeding up his trot. I haven't done any heart rate
> monitoring yet to see at what speed he's most
> proficient - who wants to put money on 7 mph? 
> ; - )
>
> Kristi iluvdez at yahoo dot com      
>
> Life's a journey, so enjoy the ride (and try not to fall off)
>
>
>  
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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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