Horse too fast!!

["Budler,Cindy" <natcon@afrox.boc.com>]

OK guys, here is a "at the end of my tether question.".. What do you do
with a horse that is too fast??? My new mare has a REAL power trot which
she uses all the time- I just can't get her to settle into what I would
call a normal trot except in the menage. I have been working her now for
5 months- an average of 60 km a week with 2 lunging sessions and a hours
schooling with an instructor. She is a chronic fighter and injured her
neck arguing with me. We have now got too the stage where we have an
understanding of sorts. She can do her trot as long as she doesn't fight
with me and comes back to a nice active walk when I ask.(that brain
trainng thing worked for this!!!) That is working. We cannot canter yet
as that is just turbo and sideways with head tossing. She is a
very"busy" horse - alert and looking all the time and she does the
"nose-lip" thing(first time I have ever seen a horse do this with a
nose- it gets pulled up on one side and she can close one nostril ) This
is usually an indicator of excitement and frustration. We train on our
own as she is one of those totally independent horses - behaves better
on her own and actually seems to prefer being out alone. I want to do a
50 miler with her soon, but am really worried that she will over extend
herself by insisting on this trot the whole way. Yesterday we did 20 kms
with some friends , us leading and them doing 15 km/h - us doing 20km/h
at the trot- way out front!!. her pulses are not great- we came in at 80
bpm , and in 10 min/s had dropped to 60 , but she stayed there for
another 15 mins. OK , this was with no cooling down and it was very hot
and humid, but  am afraid she is going to hurt herself at the speeds she
insists on doing.. What can I do, am I going too soon with her, should I
wait to do a ride?? I have done a 40 km ride (CTR) in Dec and she
handled it fine, but is a  50 miler too far?? I was hoping that by doing
the 50 miler I could get her calm enough by half way through to get a
few canters and some "normal" trots!!!!

Regards,
Cindy Budler
  Natcon
  Fabrication Division
  Afrox
  Germiston
  Gauteng
  South Africa
  Tel: Direct Line :(011) 871-1006
         Cellphone : 082 464 1809	
  Fax:(011) 873-4623
  E-Mail : natcon@afrox.boc.com