On 2/13/07, Karen Thomas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Do you care if any horse you buy can do flying pace?
No, I don't. I have a horse who can do a flying pace, we've ridden in twice by accident, but it's just not a gait I see much use for. You need a wide open flat space (we have a few, Kings Mountain, Boiling Springs, and Blowing Rock all have room), and you really have to shoe the horse with fast work on gravel in mind. I keep Runner shod all 4, and I believe we're going to put rim pads on him because he's tender galloping, but it's kind of silly to have to shoe with a pad or synthetic shoe for the horse's protection JUST to be able to pace the horse. It's not that I don't care about speed, I like a horse who can go, but the flying pace isn't a ver secure gait. I'm content to canter and hand gallop if I want to go fast, they're more sure footed gaits than a flying pace. And, BTW Wanda, the horse that has the flying pace is the trottiest horse I own. ;) The really pacey horse paces, but not the fast, pace with suspension like Star has. She could pace as fast as the Arabs we rode with hand galloped. ;) Steph -- "Brutality begins where skill ends." "Correctly understood, work at the lunge line is indispensable for rider and horse from the very beginning through the highest levels." Von Niendorff
