Galloping, who does it?

[SophieLouBee]

I was thinking about this earlier. My horse is always allowed a good blow out when we go out hacking (certain places obviously). I was hacking with my sharer and asked if she would like to, and she was really excited saying she hadn't had a good gallop in a while, and that whoever she rode with wasn't over keen, even on quieter mounts.

Now, my horse, is a tank, when we go, we go full throttle, and although he pulls up, he's a beggar for really going before I am ready, and it's terrifying, in a brilliant way! It's not what I would call 'controlled'.
The horse my sharer shares, is quite the opposite, only goes as much as she has to, but loves to keep on my big horses flanks, easy to pull up at any stage.

Both the horses love it, and are really happy when they have had a run, they enjoy their work much more when allowed to go fast once in a while.

Does it make a difference what your horse is like, whether you gallop or not?
Are you scared?
Do you have the opportunity to have a good run?
Do you feel it is important for your horse to have a gallop whilts being ridden once in a while?
If you don't do it, why not?

 

[Shantara]

Does it make a difference what your horse is like, whether you gallop or not?
I don't gallop horses I don't know, unless I've seen them being ridden a good few times ^^

Are you scared?
Sometimes! Not on Ned though

Do you have the opportunity to have a good run?
The ground often gets too hard or too soft around here, so when it's good we usually have lots of gallops

Do you feel it is important for your horse to have a gallop whilts being ridden once in a while?
I don't think Ned *needs* it, but he certainly enjoys it when we do!

 

[horsemadsarah]

I love the occasional gallop, but don't make it a habit everytime i'm on grass or do it in the same spot without a length of time in between.

I love it and the GG loves it

 

[Archiepoo]

YES YES YES a good gallop does everyone good!!! makes the ride worth while.theres a few people on my yard who would rather die than gallop ( lack of control blah blah blah) i just cant understand that!

 

[StormyMoments]

taz loves a good gallop he loves it even more if he has someone to race - we used to gallop them down a mile sand track and back and he loved it he would go in to a collected canter then once we were beyond the railway sleeper we would let them go and he loved it

he now only goes out for a gallop once every couple weeks as i dont have a saddle and galloping bareback when he rodeos when her starts out of excitement can get a bit hairy

but he always schools better after he has had a gallop, he concentrates more and is always a little less full of himself

i wish i did have a saddle as i could go for longer hacks with longer gallops etc but galloping bareback will have to do

 

[Ella19]

I and pony love a good gallop! Even though our accident back in April was whilst galloping, she hit a wet patch, tripped and flipped. We pick our ground carefully but this caught both of us out! My first ride was two weekends ago, my second this weekend resulted in us sneaking onto the edge of the local xc course for a quick gallop up! We're joing them next week as members as their ground is great all year round. I really do think it picks my pony up and keeps her interested in her work to have a good blast now and again.

 

[Dancing Queen]

Hell YES!!

I love a good gallop. I dont care if they dont pull up easily enough, its the thrill.

We have over 500 acres so always room for a good blow out! x

 

[SophieLouBee]

Everyone round by me looks at me as if I am crazy if they see me/him all snorting and full of it. When I say he's just had a good gallop they all must think i'm this wildchild, out of control youth on a hunt horse.

Infact, he's a med-advanced dressage horse (well was, when i had time to have my own life lol), now he's just the escort horse for the youngsters, who occasionally schools/jumps.

 

[quirky]

Hell yes!!

I love a good eye watering gallop, as does my mare. She is very mannerly and pulls up well, I can't help but when we step up a gear. It makes my day .

Pity the ground is either too wet or too hard much of the time .

 

[Kellys Heroes]

Always up for a good gallop when we get the chance!!
When I first started sharing Kel, I had her in a martingale as she has never been one to want to stop and I needed to build up my confidence. Now, I'm not really bothered
I do make her walk and trot as I ask though and only when I ask her to gallop, she is allowed to and I try not to gallop in the same place every time as I've been tanked off with a few times on horses who are so used to GO GO GO! as soon as their feet hit grass!
K x

 

[stencilface]

I love having a good gallop, when I first tried my 4yo out across a huge open field, he really didn't understand what the question was, and didn't get out of his canter

Our old ex racer loves a gallop though (not ridden for a couple of years now, but still gallops across the field) he used to tank off round the stubble fields, but it never worried me, he would always pull up, even if it did take a few circles to get there

 

[tallyho!]

Another "hell YES!"

Nothing better and I often wish I could gallop for a job!!! I'd be brilliant at it. I just love speed! Did once have a near death experience, but I, ahem, got back in the saddle so to say and gallop whenever we blimmin' well can!

 

[SophieLouBee]

Another "hell YES!"

Nothing better and I often wish I could gallop for a job!!! I'd be brilliant at it. I just love speed! Did once have a near death experience, but I, ahem, got back in the saddle so to say and gallop whenever we blimmin' well can!

I nearly broke my neck last year, he dropped his shoulder and I came off and landed on my head, not good at 40 mph! Luckily I only had really bad whiplash. I rode him home though, albeit crying and in a lot of pain.....

 

[Elsbells]

Yes of course. Just this evening we had a couple of dashes over the fields, although I did manage to fall off!!

My mare loves to open it up and use all the gears

 

[Archiepoo]

no matter what life throws at you - a good blast puts it into perspective

 

[MrsMozart]

Used to love it

Only galloped the Dizz once - it was the most amazing feeling

Looking forward to her getting muscled up, me getting fitter, and going for it again

 

[tallyho!]

I nearly broke my neck last year, he dropped his shoulder and I came off and landed on my head, not good at 40 mph! Luckily I only had really bad whiplash. I rode him home though, albeit crying and in a lot of pain.....

Ooohhh! The bugger!!! You were lucky... as was I. Glad you got back on... do you still go for it after that?

 

[Fantasy_World]

Yes I enjoy having a good blow and so do my horses. How often I do it depends on the state of the ground and the horses fitness too. I won't gallop on very hard ground as don't believe it does their legs any good. Equally when soft it has to be a certain kind of soft and not the slippy kind whereby if the horse suddenly spooks or is hard to pull up then one of us may go over.
My big lad often takes time to get going and I always tuck in him and let other horses get a good start otherwise often he won't let himself out. That is him just being lazy though because when he is in his own kind of mood he will jig jog down banks and try to pull your arms out.
I have never felt scared on him except a year after first having him and I was on an endurance ride alone and he just wouldn't settle when horses went by and he took off down a stony track and I literally lost a stirrup and had to dismount and go fetch it lol. He was that buzzed up at the finish that it took me over 45 minutes to get back on. He used to hunt so think that was why he was buzzy. It did scare me though as he is such a big lad at 17.2 hands and built like a brick **** house. As he is a heavy horse cross and so huge he always get looks wherever he goes or I am on the road.
My cob is a different kettle of fish completely. Quite heavily made but a pretty and forward going cob, he is not a plod! A lot smaller so his action feels choppier than the big lad. Only thing with him though as he doesn't have so much of a huge neck as the big man so you know if he ducked for whatever reason you would be off. Only started riding him myself in late 09 and haven't looked back. Responds so well to voice commands and can get excited when he out for a hack as he loves having a canter/gallop. You only have to whisper into his ears go on then and he can go from walk to gallop lol. He has not only caught me out a few times but also friends when out hacking as he has a bit of pace when he goes.
Great thrilling ride and he can quicken too as he has done it with me when behind my ex racer mare as he will go to try and catch her up.
Haven't ridden the mare yet as too heavy but if I do I know how FAST she goes and it is like lightening lol. Only seen her at full stretch once and that was upbank!

 

[muddygreymare]

A good gallop on my mare is a cure for all evils
I love it and so does she, haven't in a while though as I didn't know of any places we could go but have found a bridleway that you're allowed to go down that is apparently a good place for a gallop so will go try it out soon.
Brakes however are a slight issue as she used to hunt and just wants to carry on forever, but you can stop, it just takes a while haha. A good gallop is the best feeling ever

 

[Starbucks]

Yup and all the time atm, trying to get fit for hunting.

Think we might have overdone it a bit though because Badger buggered off up the road where I sometimes canter on the verge yesterday. Naughty boy!

 

[spotty_pony]

Does it make a difference what your horse is like, whether you gallop or not?
My boy is fine, and loves a good gallop. There are, however, certain horses which I wouldn't gallop as it would completely blow their brains!! A steady canter is plenty enough for some horses, especially if they get very overexcited.

Do you have the opportunity to have a good run?
We have lots of good grassy areas near to us, so there are plenty of opportunities for a good gallop. At the moment, though, the ground is too hard to do too much.

Do you feel it is important for your horse to have a gallop whilts being ridden once in a while?
For my horse, definitely. I think a good gallop does him good from time to time as it encourages him to really open up his stride and to blow away any cobwebs. It also allows me to see how fit he (and me!) are!

 

[FanyDuChamp]

Does it make a difference what your horse is like, whether you gallop or not?
I don't gallop any more but when I did I loved it, nothing like that feeling of the wind rushing past. Don't think what type of horse is important.My old trad cob x Welsh D loved a gallop and would happily have gone everywhere in gallop.
Are you scared? Well my old lad's brakes were dodgy but no,never scared.
Do you have the opportunity to have a good run? Not any more.
Do you feel it is important for your horse to have a gallop whilts being ridden once in a while? No
If you don't do it, why not? Not sure why not, they don't actually need it though and my two never ask, although Cappy loves a good canter. Fany is happier trotting.
FDC

 

[RunToEarth]

Yes, very often, especially now to dial it up for the hunting season.
I always got a kick out of galloping, my little coloured has a real pony like stride and I felt pretty special, but it wasn't until OH took me out on his first pointer, and when he went, the whole earth moved underneath me. I never understood the attraction of a TB out of racing, but I do now.
I always giggle when we get into the tack room and I can see OH desperately trying to pick out tack for his fastest horse- if he bothered to familiarise himself with it by cleaning it more often he wouldn't end up with the wrong set almost every time

 

[SophieLouBee]

Ooohhh! The bugger!!! You were lucky... as was I. Glad you got back on... do you still go for it after that?

Didn't for a few months, scared myself & him I think, my own silly fault as I hadn't ridden him for a week and I knew he was on his toes.

Then one day, I thought, if you don't do it now, you never will. So started off in a canter, and when I asked he wasn't sure, so I got into point-two, gave him a pat and off we went. We have been fine since! He's an old man now, but still thinks he's 5! I will miss him when we retire him, hopefully a good few years left in him yet though!

 

[Ebenezer_Scrooge]

no matter what life throws at you - a good blast puts it into perspective

This ^^^^^ We have several places to gallop and it really helps.....it makes me and my boy He has been known to bog off across stubble and has good speed for a cob x!!!!

 

[MiCsarah]

I love a good gallop, only do it a handful of times a year but my boy really does need it some times, makes him much easier to school afterwards

 

[Captain Bridget]

With the last horse I shared, a canter would get him thoroughly over excited and he would only be workable again if I let him totally chill on a long rein for a bit afterwards. Unfortunately where we hacked there wasn't anywhere for a proper gallop, just a fast canter. I did canter most times we went out unless the ground was bad, but our main canter stretch was pretty decent. I would have loved to actually gallop him as he was a beast and loved it, but pulled up easily. I think it did him good as he got to really stretch out and enjoy himself, and it got him fit for hunting. I would have loved to gallop my previous share horse too as he was a TB and could really move!

 

[stencilface]

I especially love the full gallop to spook sideways into a ploughed field - not a good option as my horse learnt - idiot

Spooky thing was some burdock leaves or something equally ridiculous if I remembers rightly!

 

[Ali27]

Nothing better than a good gallop! I prefer it to jumping or anything else

 

[gocharliego]

My horse never really nags for a gallop when he is by himslef but when we are cantering sometimes he can just run away and we end up galloping unintentionally, always adds a bit more fun to a off road hack! When we are hacking with someone else he just wants to race, and he hasn't got any TB in him!!
I am very rarley feel scared on my horse, i love feeling the air rush past.
When the ground is soft, yes but at the moment i haven't for a while. We also go XC schooling and there are gallops there (flat and uphill) so he really can let off some steam.
It adds a bit of variety into a horses work but i don't think that a horse should be galloped every hack, for the riders arms and horses sake!
AND if anyone ever gets the opportunity to go to the beach and have a gallop... DON'T HOLD BACK!!!!! its amazing