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Re: [RC] [RC] gaits used in ride - Kathy MayedaThere are just two many variables to this question. If you have a lot of elevation gain/loss, have humidity and/or heat, flooding, snow, sand, heavy horses, etc. etc. then of course you are going slower.
I went on a 19 mile ride last Sunday, it was a little windy and tad bit chilly. Took us a good 6.5 hours, but we had a lot of elevation gain/loss and tons of switchbacks. We also had a mustang that hasn't been doing hills for a long time and an unshaved overheating, sometimes tolting Icelandic along. The approximate percentage we did for this ride was 60% walking, 39% trotting and 1% canter. The bun-burning was a "test ride" for newbie horses and they all did great.
We'll be doing an LD next weekend, but the terrain is less extreme. If it's nice, my imagination says that we'd be slow trotting 60%, walking 40% and we'll probably be finished in about 5 hours. If it's hot, it will be slower. Same group, different ride terrain.
I live in the SF Bay Area, and to ride in the Santa Cruz Mountains or the Diablo Range sometimes means a tons of hill work (or NOT). Our rides vary a lot from wide groomed fire roads and some groomed single track, to technical rocky single track trails and everything in between.
Of course, variations in horses abilities exist too. I am riding an Arab mare, but she's an unconditioned 18 y.o. broodmare that has only one other easy LD under her belt. If my slightly arthritic ex-endurance horse was doing this LD, we could probably finish it in 4 hours because he has a long, easy endurance trot, and we would be mostly trotting, because that's his job. We aren't burning up the trail trying to win, just having a good time. My mare and I will probably stick with the Icelandic and mustang, along with a couple of Paint horses, so we'll probably be doing a little turtling. I decided I may as well ride my mare because I just retired my endurance horse (don't want to do hock injections), and my 10 y.o. hasn't had his brain implant yet.
Someone at my barn with a TWH finished a fairly rigourous LD totally walking, she claims.
It seems like I always ride faster in an endurance ride.
K.
On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 10:46 AM, Jen <jksimons@xxxxxxx> wrote: Ok, our first ride is coming up. I have been doing lots of riding to prepare, and Willow is doing OK. Not as ,good as an Arab, but not bad, I think! I have decided to go on the 25M at Mars Hills (baring unforseen problems). But Debbie (who will be coming on the ride too) asked me a question the other day that I had no clue of the answer. How much are you walking/ trotting/ canter?
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