I've
observed this since I started doing endurance 5 years ago. My horses appear to
cool down best moving from a good working/extended trot to a much more relaxed
canter. When I was bring along my now 9yo I was advised to not let him break
into a canter as he would have preferred long ago, but to keep him working as
long as possible in his trot. I think this is still good advice for youngsters
coming up and not "racing" yet simply because of the reduced injury factor the
trot gives and it's good conditioning effects.
I am
letting my guy have his own gaits more and more now that he is mature and
hardened well to his training. His recoveries have improved dramatically
now as well.
Happy
Tails!
Susan & Fly Bye
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2002 9:12 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [RC] Born to Trot?
Article in this months Equus from a
study done at Cal Poly. Brings up the whole gaited issue again along with
Arabians bred to produce a faster trot. Very
interesting.From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2002 9:12 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [RC] Born to Trot?
"Cantering at a speed of 15 miles per hour requires less energy than traveling the same speed at the trot...."
"The average [metabolic] cost increase between the regular trot and extended trot for Arabians was 32 percent...."
"...trotting at a high rate of speed is very challenging for any kind of horse.....If you've got a long distance to travel in a short time, trotting fast probably isn't the most efficient way to do it, even if you're on a horse bred for it."
