Do u trot on roads??

[maza]

How much road work does everyone do?? My mare has a clicking joint which seems to go away the more road work I do, I know it's bad for concussion but recently I've been thinking we all used to do a lot of road work, and now we don't our horses seem to break more?
Are we too soft with all these fab surfaces now? My husbands an athlete and says always running on soft surfaces can be just as bad! So should we do a little road work to harden joints ect up??

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We don't have a soft surface, we either school in the field, hire a school or hack. We trot on the road as a matter of course, we make sure that our trot is collected and it is most likely to be uphill.
Roadwork is excellent for hardening/strengthening tendons, ask any-one who fittens hunters.

 

[JFTDWS]

Yes, trot work on hard surfaces can be very beneficial when done sensibly. Besides, I'd never get anywhere if I didn't...

 

[morrismob]

We trot up hills only and walk everywhere else. I think they do need some work on a hard surface to toughen up but only if they are reasonably fit and with no joint or lameness issues. I was told it was really good for building up topline and bums .

 

[padderpaws]

We do not have a school at our yard so we have to exercise on the roads. We do a lot of trotting and our horses seem to do well.

 

[Apercrumbie]

Trotting on roads is absolute fine as long as you're not absolutely hammering it. A relaxed but forward trot will do no damage to most horses.

 

[3Beasties]

Yes, trot work on hard surfaces can be very beneficial when done sensibly. Besides, I'd never get anywhere if I didn't...

Ditto, lack of off road riding means if we didn't our horses would never get close to being fit!

And shock horror, I even trot my navicular horse on roads!

 

[Goldenstar]

Yes we do, but up hill and steadily , some pf our horses hunt and being used to doing this is part essential fittening work, but I do it with care and not too much but I really believe that horses need to work on a variety of surfaces.

 

[starryeyed]

We do but we make sure we're going at a steady even pace, not just clattering along flat out.

 

[POLLDARK]

I trot on roads but not fast & generally do it uphill unless I am on one of the many backroads around here that have grass up the middle for long stretches (they are proper roads though) & can then do some medium trot.

 

[applecart14]

No no no no no. Never. The surface of a road is hard and unyielding. To trot on such a surface is concussing the legs and feet. For a horse that has joint problems it would hurt like hell. My horse has severe arthritis in his coffin joint, spavin in his off hind and recovering from a suspensory injury. To trot on the roads would be stupid. However, if you just HAVE to trot then trotting uphill is 100 times better than on the flat road.

But hey, that's not to say I never used to trot, I used to do the best extended trot in the country up Tom Hill in Tamworth in Arden! But that was before I knew how concussive trotting on a road surface was.

But I think the veterinary jury is still out on whether it is bad or not for horses legs and feet.

I know if I run with my bad back the pain is excrutiating unless I am well topped up with painkillers.

 

[CatStew]

To trot on the roads would be stupid. However, if you just HAVE to trot then trotting uphill is 100 times better than on the flat road.

Why is trotting uphill better then trotting on the flat road? I've not heard this before - I'm just intreagued really!



I used to work on a hunt yard and would have to excercise 6 horses a day (ride & lead so 3 rides). Mid/End August when we'd bring the horses in from their summer holidays to fitten them again we would do gradual road work, first of all just a walk round the village, which was probably about 2/3 miles in all. After a week or so we'd introduce a bit of trot work until eventually we would ride 4 miles to the next village, then turn round and come back again. When the horses were back in full work, we'd trot all the way, apart from downhill. They were really hammered on the roads too, to the point where sparks would come off the horses shoes from the friction on the concrete saying that though, it was very seldom that any of them had any soundness issues and as I said, it was quite a gradual process to get them to this point.

I do trot my two on roads, I've had my mare 6 years and she's never been lame **touches wood** we don't have stupidly long trots though, and most of it is uphill. My boy is quite unfit at the moment, I've had him for about three months, but prior to me buying him he'd been turned away for 9 weeks. I'm struggling to fitten him with working full time, can't wait until its light in the evenings! But he struggles to trot long distances on the road, so we are sticking to short and sweet trots for now.

 

[muddygreymare]

I do trot on roads, both uphill and flat, but not for long periods of time. She copes absolutely fine so as long as your horse can cope with it, it's okay to do it for short periods imo

 

[Jazzy B]

I trot on roads uphill and on the flat - always a nice controlled trot. See no difference to trotting on roads to people who canter on really hard ground or worse still really boggy ground

 

[Nocturnal]

Why is trotting uphill better then trotting on the flat road? I've not heard this before - I'm just intreagued really!

I am also interested in the reasoning behind this - it's not something I've heard either. I would have thought that, provided the horse has a biomechanically correct heel first landing, trotting on a flat surface would be best? When working uphill horses no longer land heel first - surely when on the road this would increase the concussion?

 

[Suziq77]

Yes I trot on the roads for fittening work. I wish we had some hils round us but it is flat flat flat. Grrrrr.

Also, does anyone else feel that drivers overtake you faster if you are trotting than if you are walking? I've lost enthusiasm for trotting on some of our usual stretches recently because of this.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Got no-where else to ride so HAVE to trot on the roads. Having said that, I would never ever trot downhill as some road surfaces are far too slippery.

Round here, if you're lucky, there's often grass in the middle of the road so that helps.

I've heard somewhere (on here probably) that if you go shoeless then cantering on the roads is actually better for the horse than trotting is???? But don't think this would apply if horse shod?

Can anyone enlighten?

 

[Miss L Toe]

How much road work does everyone do?? My mare has a clicking joint which seems to go away the more road work I do, I know it's bad for concussion but recently I've been thinking we all used to do a lot of road work, and now we don't our horses seem to break more?
Are we too soft with all these fab surfaces now? My husbands an athlete and says always running on soft surfaces can be just as bad! So should we do a little road work to harden joints ect up??

In Ye Olden Days when an hour's road work was the norm and everyone hunted, horses did not last as long as they do now, 14 was quite an age for a horse.
Road work, by which I mean a steady progression from twenty minutes walking to an hour of mixed trot and walk will harden ligaments, but NOT joints.
Concussion on joints is caused by hitting the road with a hard steel shoe, for this reason, I believe trotting on roads with a barefoot horse is less likely to cause concussion.
One the other hands there is a limit, and though I have always liked to trot slowly uphill to strengthen muscles, there are those who consider this can lead to sacro-ileac injury.
I am no osteopath, but I would think that if the clicking joint is eased by work, it is due in part to a loosening and warming of the area, which would probably be noticeable in any work, nothing to do with the road.
Horses "seem to break more", is correct, there are new diseases/ailments discovered every day, and the treatment options are much greater, also owners view them as "pets", in the past this was not the case, they were working animals, and were usually "sent away" if they were "past it"

 

[Kenzo]

Yes, it's one of my favorite things, a goold old clippy clop around the village, like with anything its gradual process, do it in moderation, take into account the individual horse and their fitness etc.

 

[Miss L Toe]

Why is trotting uphill better then trotting on the flat road? I've not heard this before - I'm just intreagued really!

Going uphill the horse really HAS to us his hand legs, therefore there is less weight on the forelimbs, it is usually the forelimbs which suffer suspensory ligament damage.
Just think about how a human alters his centre of gravity when running uphill.
Trotting on a flat road, on a shod horse, I am more wary of slipping, therefore tend to select level ground and a good surface, but I would always do more walking than trotting.

 

[jenki13]

Yes & have done with all the ponies / horses I have owned.

We build it up gradually & only do short trots to start with. I trot uphill & on the flat.

In terms of the actual structure of muscles & tendons I'm fairly sure horses are almost identical to humans (animal science did the same module as us at uni anyway!). So I treat the horses similarly to humans & in humans working on hard surfaces (high impact) may result in an increase in breakdown & regrowth of bones, which are strengthened and also acts to "toughen" the tendons. However excessive high impact exercise may have negative effects of joints through wear & tear on the cartilage, but there are a lot of other factors that affect cartilage such as original "thickness" & other injuries so it's hard to quantify.

Working in deep or boggy ground or too often on soft surface may have a negative effect as this can result in the pulling of tendons/muscles/ligaments, and if a horse then works on a hard surface then the tendons may not be "up to the job" as they are unused to concussive force.

 

[jenki13]

Going uphill the horse really HAS to us his hand legs, therefore there is less weight on the forelimbs, it is usually the forelimbs which suffer suspensory ligament damage.

Can you come & tell my mare that she's meant to use her backside to trot uphill . It still feels like she's heaving herself along on her front at times! Lol.

 

[CatStew]

Going uphill the horse really HAS to us his hand legs, therefore there is less weight on the forelimbs, it is usually the forelimbs which suffer suspensory ligament damage.
Just think about how a human alters his centre of gravity when running uphill.
Trotting on a flat road, on a shod horse, I am more wary of slipping, therefore tend to select level ground and a good surface, but I would always do more walking than trotting.

Ah right, thanks, I can see it now!

 

[debsey1]

We trot on the flat and uphill sometimes even downhill (shock horror) he is unshod.

When taking him hunting anything goes from trotting to cantering along the roads and he is absolutely fine with. The only time I won't do the above is when the roads are frosty/icy or if the lanes are covered in algae.

 

[JFTDWS]

I've heard somewhere (on here probably) that if you go shoeless then cantering on the roads is actually better for the horse than trotting is????

That wouldn't surprise me, certainly in some cases. My cob has a very cob-like trot - he really throws his feet down into the ground - but in canter he's much ligher - you can hear from his footfalls that he's much less aggressive in his stride when cantering. I've often thought cantering on hard ground is better for him than trotting.

I'd also take hard, unforgiving surfaces over deep going any day.

 

[Cocorules]

I do not trot mine on the road. Chiefly because I was taught not to but having my own knee injury from running on the road which still hurts 30 years on so not keen to risk my horse either.

 

[debsey1]

I do not trot mine on the road. Chiefly because I was taught not to but having my own knee injury from running on the road which still hurts 30 years on so not keen to risk my horse either.

He'll be fine.....he's a horse, not human!

 

[Ibblebibble]

Going uphill the horse really HAS to us his hand legs, therefore there is less weight on the forelimbs, it is usually the forelimbs which suffer suspensory ligament damage.
Just think about how a human alters his centre of gravity when running uphill.
Trotting on a flat road, on a shod horse, I am more wary of slipping, therefore tend to select level ground and a good surface, but I would always do more walking than trotting.

strangely i have been told that trotting up hill is less work for a horse than walking up hill so long ago i can't remember exactly why though

But do i trot on roads, yep, all mine are barefoot and we have no problems with slipping , only one i have to be careful with is the big mare as she dishes and doesn't like trotting close to the verge because of the camber of the road.

 

[Mithras]

Trotting on roads is a recognised method of hardening a horse's legs. As long as you build up gradually and don't overdo it and have off days for recovery.

Ditto for running.

I do think some artificial surfaces are so soft that they must cause quite a lot of strain on tendons and ligaments. I'd certainly find it very hard work to run on such surfaces, not least because they are heavier and more uneven, but then I only have two legs and not four!

 

[Nocturnal]

He'll be fine.....he's a horse, not human!

Would you mind elaborating on this? I assumed that similar principles applied to all animals in this regard.