Amy...SLOW DOWN..that is all I can really tell you! I have started many young horses in this sport..a few of my own, and a lot for others. If you want your horse to last, you need to forgo riding with those who want to go faster than his young body is ready for!
Fellow was 6.5 before I even let him trot fast. He had quite a few training miles, a slow 50, then a moderate 50, THEN he was ready to rock and roll. My 4, coming 5 yr old will be started the same way..nice and slow..Ever hear the term, "LSD-Long Slow Distance"..lots of walking up hills, lead down the steep hills, let your horse mature!
Cheri Brisco, of Misty Mountain Farms (breeder of both my geldings and many great horses) put it well:
"Don't leave your horse's legs out on the trail on a training ride"
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From: dmartin1@xxxxxxxxxxxx To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] cantering Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 15:07:22 -0600
lately as I work to improve my horse's
conditioning I find I have been riding more with experienced
distance riders and am finding that my 5 yo 14 hand horse does
not have the trot to keep up with a seasoned Arabian distance horse. He
tries to extend his trot but gets all strung out and falls behind and gets
upset. Or, if I let him move up to a canter he can
canter along easily at the same speed as their big trot.
He is still building this gait and what I wonder is if I
condition and ride him regularly at the canter if this is an acceptable
gait (meaning won't overstress or injure him more than a trot would) for a
distance horse. He goes all day at his 6 mph working trot but we can
either ride alone or with the quarter horses at this speed, it seems like a
great trot to me but when an Arab opens up into their effortless
float down the trail big trot we catch a lot of dirt. I also
notice that the more I let him canter and the better he gets at it that he
doesn't even want to try to trot anymore with a big mover but asks immediately
to break to the canter.
Amy and Kobe(who has been watching You Tube of the
Mongolian horse races and saw they all cantered the whole way and has decided
that is the way he wants to go)(he also wants one of those awesome hairdos they
sport with the forelock wrapped and sticking straight
up)
