I’ve heard this advice for years and it’s never made sense. Can someone explain how going slower on hard ground changes the physics of jump height, horse/rider weight or any other variable? If the ground is that hard, we scratch. I’m serious, I suspect it’s one of those horse care conventional wisdoms that becomes gospel thru reputation. Thanks!
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It’s never made sense to me as you actually end up with more foot strikes on the ground due to the shorter stride. A horse galloping strikes the ground less than a horse cantering.
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Good point. I also think that slower is more ‘up and down’ bouncy canter with more vertical force component than a normal faster canter with more horizontal force component. In any event, I just wondered if there was data or a study that someone might be aware of.
Hard ground has no give so the concussive forces are greater. Often a horse will shorten it’s stride on hard ground and will jump flatter as it anticipates a hard landing. Just imagine yourself jumping off a wall onto concrete versus grass: I suspect you would be a bit more cautious on the concrete. How a horse is affected by hard ground depends on conformation, particularly hooves. Big, round hooves tend to cope better with soft going and narrow, more upright ones with harder. Compare the feet of an ISH vs Andalusian. Low heels and soft soles also may find hard ground a problem. But then “leg up” the horse and they can manage just fine. As usual, a case of knowing your horse and managing him to prevent and limit damage.
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Good question Tom ‘somebody’ 
In regards to 2/3 of the I/P entry at IEA?
one answer here.
‘hard surfaces also do not allow the toe of the hoof to penetrate during push off, great pressure applied to the navicular region’
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Do tell! What happened at I/P? I ran novice, they aerovated the warmup and parts of the course, and footing was decent in some stretches so I ran but it was hard ground as well. The whole ‘just go slower’ makes no sense to me.
To answer that question - 2 out of 3 withdrew from XC.
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My understanding is that the amount of concussive force absorbed is greater at higher speeds when the foot is on the ground for less time, but I don’t really have the physics background or even brains enough to know how valid this is. Maybe @RAyers might chime in?
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I’m just thinking of a person running, which may not be an apt analogy given the difference in gait. But a sprinter applies a lot more force to the ground with each step than someone running slower. It would make sense to me that a slower pace strikes the ground with less force, which would be desirable with hard ground.
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This exactly. If your horse has good feet and no limiting conditions and if the takeoffs and landings have been well prepared, cantering around is an option. This is the driest May my area has ever had. I wince to watch my horses run and play in turn out but they don’t seem to mind.
In NoVa, we are down SIX inches!, which has resulted in the ground being hard and dry everywhere.
I am not back in the saddle yet because I’m recovering from total hip replacement surgery, but have advised my LL students to do lots and lots of walking when they hack out, and work primarily in rings with softer, more forgiving footing. Also, ice the legs and poultice the feet after cross-country schoolings/competition. In past years, when preparing for HTs on hard ground I have done a ton of walking (on hacks) along with gradual hills - this can really help with fitness without pounding legs. Also, a lot of footwork exercises (raised cavaletti, etc.) and more cantering in the better and softer ring footing.
This has been an interesting discussion, so thanks to the OP! Hoping that @RAyers might weigh in with his $02.
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I wouldn’t “go slower” at Training or below. Those speeds aren’t fast enough to make a difference. Prelim and above? Yes I will go slower and not worry about time when the ground conditions are poor. I wouldn’t gallop a horse down the road, so I won’t gallop 520+ mpm on rock hard ground. However, I do trot sets on roads, and conditioning gallops (slow) on hard ground, so my horses are somewhat adapted to it, and therefore I feel safe competing on hard ground (carefully).
As to “why” slower? A horse hits the ground MUCH harder the faster it goes, speaking as an exercise rider galloping racehorses. Hard ground stings the feet, and sends shock all the way up the leg and body.
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My horse will “suck back” even just at the trot when we hit harder ground on trails. Even in her hoof boots. It’s concussion.
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I think we need to define “hard ground.”
What is that? I’ve heard many from back east say we have hard ground here, but it is the normal ground on which we train. There is no indication of increased lameness conditions due to it as compared to the east (provided proper training was done).
I suspect what many may say is hard ground is ground I wouldn’t hesitate to run full gallop on.
So, let’s define that before debating.
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I agree with RAyers, it depends on what you are used to. I primarily hunt and the hunt horses are used to the ground conditions. We run hard over winter ground (and down dirt roads). I would say if you took a ring bound horse out and ran him over the ground we hunt on, he would end up severely lame.
Our trot sets and gallops are all done on whatever the ground is. I believe doing conditioning this way enables your horse to be ready for the current conditions they face. I think soft/muddy ground is more of an issue.
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Well, the general rule is that it’s important (and beneficial) to ride and condition event horses on different types of footing so that their soft tissues (and feet, and skeleton) adapt, but I think one should be judicious in terms of doing a lot of fast work on cement hard ground.
“Firm” ground - dirt packed roads, fields that haven’t had rain but where the grass underfoot is fairly thick, etc. will serve that purpose, but any footing where you can hear the horse hit the ground CLACK CLACK with every stride is probably not the best footing for gallop sets. I think hoof quality is also an important factor; my 2 mares (dam and daughter) have excellent, hard feet and recover(ed) from summer x-country runs with no issue, even when running on hard ground. They are 1/2 WB and 3/4 WB (the amount of blood being 60% and 40% respectively) and luckily are genetically blessed; some of my previous TBs, not so much.
Conditioning carefully and using more hillwork to prep - and some interval training (obviously) is better than just trotting and cantering around and around on cement - though I have seen people do this (and it makes me cringe a bit.) If you do maybe 3 HTs over the entire summer season on harder ground (and a maybe a schooling), most sound horses can recover without lasting harm, but I think repeated pounding on that footing will eventually take a toll. Not to mention making them footsore - which is another issue - especially for horses with thin soles. Pedal osteitis can be a problem for some horses, and shoes and pads can only do so much to cushion a thin sole.
Two of my students have barefoot horses (one is a TB) and I encourage them to use the above strategy for maintaining soundness while conditioning - along with using Keratex and icing and poulticing after competing. At the lower levels with slower speeds it’s really less of an issue.
I am a footing Nazi - didn’t used to be when I was much younger (and stupider) but my vet has been very happy with the condition of my horse’s joints and feet over the years - and I have competed both of them a good bit.
Back to the OT, though! It’s an interesting question - and I’m left wondering whether there is any way to measure this? (The idea that the toe can’t penetrate the ground, putting strain/pressure on the navicular region is definitely a concern - especially for horses with potential heel pain issues.)
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I overheard a rider say that anyone who made time XC should get a yellow card. This consistent “just go slow” on ‘hard’ ground advice never seems to be backed up by any study I’m aware of. Like other things in the horse world (and elsewhere) old ideas often take on a life of their own.
So we either run a normal XC or scratch, quite often we are with the tiny minority that will do so. After all, people pay a lot of money, travel a long way and want to do the fun XC run, so doing a CT is not a hugely popular option when everyone else is having fun and thinking “I’ll go slow, it’ll be fine.” Appreciate all the input, some great thoughts.
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Dang. Regardless of how hard or soft the going is, the faster you go the more it hurts. You don’t notice that in your own ambulations?
Here is an explanation of types of ground found on UK and Irish racecourses, which are predominantly turf. Ground conditions are assessed for the welfare of the horses and the information is published for the benefit of the punters as horses will generally prefer one type against another. https://www.racingpost.com/guide-to-racing/what-is-the-going-ann7h6W6VB3b/
Before each meet, the Clerk of the Course (i.e. the manager) will test and measure the ground on the course with a GoingStick, which measures the amount of force required to push the tip into the ground and the energy required to pull back to a 45° angle, at 54 points around the course. The measurements are downloaded onto a computer, an average calculated and the going assessed.
The description/categories can be directly transferred to conditions on Eventing XC as it is still run on grass and natural ground…
As I was looking for an example of the “Going Report” that an increasing number of Events publish, I found this article from Horse & Hound https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/the-problem-with-hard-ground-40989
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Good article (and echoes a lot of what has been discussed on this thread!), I sent it to my students - thanks!
