Barefoot Horses cantering on roads

Yes. Only uphill and only on one horse out of two, the other cannot be trusted not to spook. The concussion sounds to me much lower than trotting on the road in shoes. Shod hunters often pound the roads in trot or in canter, so I reckon it's ok on the legs.
 
Yup. Hard to avoid on an Endurance ride. Never had a slip, and no leg problems so far. Would probably be safer to canter than trot downhill, but not keen on that...
 
I don't know why but even barefoot it just seems wrong to be cantering on roads... Probably because it's been drummed into me since being a small child that cantering on roads is a no no. I'm afraid that 'hunters do it so it must be ok' doesn't really sit right with me, there are many footings that hunters would canter and jump on that I would never dream of.

Never done endurance but do people canter on Tarmac or is it just hardcore tracks?
 
Ride organisers try to avoid roadwork, primarily because of traffic, I think, but many rides have at least a little on tarmac. I have cantered in such a context, but only with a group of barefoot horses.
 
No, but probably because it was an absolute NO when I was a youngster, thinking about it now and I still don't feel it would sit easily with me. Although have done it involuntarily when horse bolted and we survived !!
 
So steady canters over short distances may be ok? I would love this to be correct as I have little off road hacking but I am still too scared it may cause damage, it is just such a solid and unforgiving surface, don't people who run on Tarmac get shin splints or is that a myth?
 
Our roads have hedges on each side and lots of blind bends so I stay slow for other reasons.

However what I think you do get with barefoot is feedback about how the horse is coping with different surfaces. My retired tb was very sensitive and cantering along a field and crossing a rough grassless area he would slow down and adjust and then pick up speed when we hit the grass again. As he was barefoot longer and coping better he wanted to do a big trot on the road and also wanted to move faster over stony surfaces.

New tb who has had his shoes off recently is also good as telling me what he is comfortable with and what he isn't.

So safety allowing I would let the horse's comfort levels dictate how fast I go on different surfaces.
 
That's really interesting, like so many it has always seemed a no-no. Will be interesting to see if mine prefers it. he always struggled trotting on the roads. His trot is not comfortable! Mainly because he seems unable to trot slowly!
 
We do it regularly. All ponies are barefoot and never had a splint or a day lame. They don't slip, ever, and wouldn't do it if they weren't comfortable - they soon tell us if they don't like a stony track!

I rode shod horses in France this year for the first time in years, and was horrified at them slipping and sliding all over the place. I'd forgotten.
 
Mine are all barefoot, and I have cantered on roads out hunting. I feel much safer than the shod horses clattering along beside me!

At home, I don't usually canter on roads (again, years of PC telling me not too, and the logic that faster must equal higher landing force ). I trot, calmly and in a balanced outline, and canter on the moors or grass.

But a few things have begun to make me question this.

1) hoof landings. We are surrounded by hills. Our riding is mostly walk down a 1:3 and trot back up a 1:3. They heel land at walk down the hill, but have no option but to be flat or toe landing at trot up steep hills. Would canter improve this?

2) pelvis strain. I have an old mare who had an accident many years ago, and now has arthritic changes in her pelvis. She 'skips' when trotting up hill, esp on the stiffer diagonal, but is very happy to canter up hill on either lead. Talking to her physio about this, she said that trotting up hills can be bad for pelvis' , and to avoid it where possible. I since asked other professionals about this, and most have agreed.

But trotting up hill is traditional fittening work. Aargh! Another piece of traditional knowledge proved wrong?? Putting my head in the sand would be so much easier! Unless someone can give me a definitive answer?
 
I had it drummed into me in childhood not to canter on the roads.... probably its fine but I cannot get this out of my head....


'It's not the 'unting on the 'ill
That 'urts the 'orses 'ooves
But the 'ammer, 'ammer, 'ammer
On the 'ard 'igh road

:)
 
Wheels said:
So steady canters over short distances may be ok? I would love this to be correct as I have little off road hacking but I am still too scared it may cause damage, it is just such a solid and unforgiving surface, don't people who run on Tarmac get shin splints or is that a myth?
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You can get shin splints from running on roads if you do it excessivley with little warm up or preperation for it. Or if you have never run on tarmac then do a massive run on it you will get shin splints. But the more you do it the stronger your bones get as it increases the bone density so makes them thougher :)
 
I do, not a lot but I dont have a problem with it, but my horse has always done a lot of roadwork, built up slowly to start, so has had time to adapt to the concussion. What concernes me far more is very uneven, stoney surfaces and the risk of hoof bruising.
 
Didn't spook but when a group of Traveller kids drove towards us shouting and blaring their horn in a 4X4 and I could hear them whiz round the camp and come back I asked old Picasso to speed up slightly as we were near home.To my surprise the old fool gave me a canter!As it was far nicer than his trot I didn't argue :)
 
Everything in moderation :D

We have a traffic free Sustrans track as part of our regular hacking, and it has a long grass verge on either side of the tarmac. Quite often when out with others, we have a little canter along some of the more open stretches, and the other horses will canter on the verge - mine chooses to canter on the tarmac. I usually suggest to him that he might like to canter on the verge and he will for a few strides, then we drift back out on to the blacktop again... I will only do this for short stretches, and generally when we ride this track it's walk and gentle trot.

There's another road locally that is a long steep hill - and we alternate walk and trot up it, but horse will often ask for a short canter on the last stretch before the top. It's a single track with clear visibility all around, so you can see any traffic for about a mile in each direction, I only agree to the suggestion if the road is clear.

I would actually never ask the horse to canter on tarmac, but if he's happy to offer... He does a nice balanced canter too, so it's never road hammering trot or tanking off canter, just nice, slow, but up a gear.
 
I was told that it is easier for a horse to canter uphill rather than trot, so if you have one that is a bit "iffy" for whatever reason - youth, age, unfitness, injury - they may want to break into a canter. I don't think this means that you never trot uphill.
 
I was thinking about this thread when riding out hacking today. As others have said I have had it drummed into me from an early age that cantering on roads is a huge no-no so have always avoided it. I have however always considered cantering on the road out hunting to be a better option than dong a spanking trot, even for a shod horse. As I haven't really hunted myself though it's not something I have ever really had to do.

My old lad is still shod but my other horse is barefoot and copes well on the road. We only ever trot though despite not really having any off-road hacking where we can canter. I did ask her to canter on the road today but that was only because I was curious to see if she would actually go into canter, which she did, but I pulled her up straight away as I just can't get over the 'no cantering on roads' things. I actually wouldn't be against it if I could guarantee that it would not put her legs/joints/hooves at any more risk then walking or trotting does!
 
Would be interesting to see some research on this and what if any pressure etc is increased at canter, I had it drummed into me to never canter as well and it seems strange to do it, but loads of people canter on hard ground etc.

A slow canter can be a fast as a decent trot so prob similar concussion issues.

At the end of the day it comes down to conditioning to protect legs.
 
Another endurance rider and yes, I canter my BF horses on the road. I do pick the road though as competing with traffic is not top of my list of fun things to do!

I use it as conditioning and because it is something that I thought might come in useful whilst competing one day, so better to have practiced some first.

But I have to say that the thought of doing it on a shod horse scares me silly and there were some really freaky photots of endurance horses going down whilst cantering on the road earlier this year. Too fast, too wet and not the sort of rider I would ever want to be.
 
Copperpot said:
I have road nails on my horse and when I have cantered on the road they haven't ever slipped.
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I used to have road nails when I had a shod horse (for driving) - but still slipped more than the barefoot ones ever do.

The driven ponies like to canter up hill in harness too - in fact one of my Dartmoors likes to gallop, carriage and all up particularly steep hills - grass or tarmac. I think he missed his mission in life as a scurry pony!

Even with the additional grip needed to pull a vehicle, slipping has never been a problem.
 
Jack's barefoot but I've always had it drummed into me that cantering and heavy trotting on the road is a big no-no, so I've never done it personally.
I feel that it's safer in general to do any cantering or schooling trot-work in an arena or in an enclosed field (either the field the horses live in or a field I've got permission to ride in)
Out on the road I do mainly walking at a working pace, in contact if I feel he needs to work, with short bursts of trot on smooth roads/paths.

As Jack's riding disciplines don't involve any roadwork themselves (showjumping and dressage) I don't feel like it's either necessary or beneficial.
 
Road work with a healthy well functioning bare hoof is a different proposition to doing so with a shod hoof. I wouldn't deliberately do fast work with the latter but have no qualms doing long trots, canters with the former. It feels completely different. The former (IME) was bouncy, well balanced and full of grip. The latter was hard, jarry, no fun and somewhat prone to slipping.
 
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