[RC] cantering - shermanJust curious...how long has your horse been under saddle? On the trails? If you've been riding for a couple years already at slow speeds, and your horse is settled and doesn't get hyper at faster speeds, he may well be ready for as much cantering as you like. My 14.1H 10 yr old has to canter to keep up with our bigger trail partners, too, and like your guy, once he found out he could do this easily, often prefers to canter than to trot faster. He doesn't get racy, is ridden with a halter and is totally controllable (with the exception of the occasional fit of head slinging), doesn't insist on keeping up if I want to drop back, and often when we drop back our bigger trail partners will slow down and wait. I don't have a problem with allowing him to canter, but I also make sure I go on many rides during which we canter only occasionally and so keep working on the trot as well. Kathy 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) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 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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