Re: trot versus gallop

["Bonita B. Young" <corky@foothill.net>]

Donna

Funny you should ask this question as my horsewanted to do the same thing except
it was the right lead.  He could gallop for miles (20+) and his pulse would stay
lower than at the trot.  This was on relitivley flat desert ground with no steep
uphills and fairley good footing.  The one time I insisted that he change and use
the left lead for a good part of the day he was off the next day.  These rides
were also multi day rides.  In the future I would let him use the lead he
preferred and had no problems.  This horse did have a slightley diffrent size in
his front hooves and I feel this may be why he prefered one lead over the other.
This guy also has a very big trot ( his breeding suggests he should have been a
park horse).  I think this is why he was more comfortable at a gallop than the
trot ( he wasted so much energy mainting the park horse action).  He has done many
mountian rides where it was not wise to allow him to gallop.  It was always a
battle to make him trot but he would.  He has a good intermeadiate trot that is
not to wasteful energy wise and would use that when made to.  I guss what I am
trying  to say that if the terrain allows to gallop let your horse decide what is
the most confortable for him that will allow a low pulse and a fast recovery.

Good luck I hope this helps,
Corky Young

DMAJICC@aol.com wrote:

> Corkey,
>
>        I also have an Arab that would rather gallop/lope during a long ride.
> I find that his big trot on the HRM reads between 118 and 120 when we gallop
> it goes to about 105 to 100  he can keep this up for over a mile if I let him.
> My concern is he always wants to go on the left lead when we do this.  I will
> change leads and he will bump me back over to the left.  He was laid off for
> about four mo. this season beause of fluid filling between the legimet and
> tendon sheith.  I think I created this problem when we did the AppleGate
> Lassen 250.  Question I it wrong of me to make him use the lead I want when he
> is tired?  Would this cause him to interfear?  I am new to this and am in a
> learning mode.  Though I think I will always be learning at this.
>
> It's rainning
> Donna Brow