Amen to that! I have finally been riding Twist, the sad Standardbred. He was a pacer at the track and at first I thought he was the most awkward and uncomfortable horse I'd ever been on. I find that if I relax and just sort of let my body flow, making sure my seat stays centered and quiet, with what ever gait he presents (and there are several) he does much better. He is now doing a pretty nice trot and rarely pacing.
As for the sad part, that too is improving. When I call, he comes to the gait from the fairly large pasture he shares with four other horses. He's a delight to handle in every way. Yesterday, a friend and I went out with hand clippers and trimmed trail. He is so solid that he will just stand while I lean in every direction to cut branches. I prayed and rode him off a section of trail that I hate, nearly vertical, straight down - and we survived. When we got to the barn, I offered him water, dropping his bit, reins still attached. He then walked off-lead like an obedience dog over to his cross ties. Endurance horses have to meet a heart rate criteria, usually 60 beats per minute, before they are allowed to continue on. I doubt that Twist will be an endurance horse, but he was a VERY low resting heart rate. With me sitting on him waiting for my friend to finish tacking up, his heart rate was 27 yesterday. This is very much on the low end. Hunter's was 48 in a pre-purchase exam. Yrsa's was 34, also considered low. Nancy
