which is more energy-conserving - medium trot or slow canter?

[Auventera_Two]

Some of the horses look just amazing at the finish of a 100 mile and some look like they’re ready to die. I rarely look at the photos of FEI 100 mile rides on endurance.net anymore because the percentage of skinny spent horses outweighs the ones who look healthy and happy. I know they pass the vet checks and they’re probably just fine, but I don’t like the looks of them.

I have to say that the U.S. team we sent to Malaysia had magnificent horses that looked like world class athletes. Great flesh and bloom to their coats, always alert and bright looking. Some of the others from other countries were way too thin and they just looked depressed and soured. The U.S. had a team to be very proud of. :yes:

[saratoga]

yeah, I dont like the way most of the FEI horses look and I dont like anything about that particular aspect of the sport, I dont even read anything about it anymore. I’ve been a fan of thoroughbred racing since I was a little kid but there are so many things I hate about that industry too and I dont want to see endurance go that route. I really like the fact that at its core, its an amateur sport with horse and rider combos that last a long time and the horses are more than just for racing.

[Auventera_Two]

That’s pretty much my feelings too.

[Gestalt]

I’ve read in several ranch books from the old days that they “covered ground in a long trot” because that was the most efficient gait and it didn’t kill their horses.

Isn’t there something about breathing too? You can hear each exhale with the hoofbeats. So for 4 footfalls at the canter, you get 1 breath and at the trot you will get 2. Can’t remember exactly what I read about breathing and the various gaits, now I need to go ride my horse and listen!

[wendybird]

FEI Endurance

If I may comment - All our endurance rides are run under FEI rules. It is rare for any horse to require IV fluids for dehydration or metabolic problems. Much more common are soundness issues.

We had our NZ National Champs at Easter. The 160 k (100 miles) was over rolling to flat farm land and metal roads with two moderate hill climbs - not the flat racetracks of Dubai - and was won in 8hr 24.37 at an average speed of 19.02 kph (11.8 mph approx). Horses were swabbed and had blood samples taken after the race.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21787418@N00/sets/72157616572619443/?page=7 shows the winner with hand raised in victory, last years champ the 14.3 chestnut coming in 2nd, and the race for the minor placings.

I think that most would agree that these horses are in excellent condition at the end of their endurance season. If horses are looking skinny, look to their owners for the reasons why, don’t blame the FEI, which has strict rules for the welfare of competing horses.

[matryoshka]

My OTTB was happiest at a hand-gallop. This was an efficient gait for him and covered ground rapidly, to boot. We did a lot of training at the trot, but his reward was always a nice, relaxing gallop. After miles of frustrated trotting, he’d cool down immediately after I let him gallop. His hand-gallop was 22mph.

When he felt really good, he’d stick to trotting if I insisted, but his hindquarters was always asking to move up into a canter.

My strategy was to ask him to come back to trotting, or walk, but otherwise allow him to gallop if he’d do so with relaxation. And not on hills. Hills were for trotting. You know how some horses jig when they want to go faster? Mine cantered at a walking pace. Interspersed with bucking. Oh, and I could hear him grinding his teeth if I pushed the issue about gait.

I did not have a heart-rate monitor, but judging by his breathing and how rapidly he’d cool down after a nice hand-gallop, I’d say that was more efficient for him. I imagine his version of “jigging” was energy consuming.