Road Work

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Gentle_Warrior

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What are your views on it being good for strengthening the legs and tendons ??

What about trotting on roads and concussion ??

Just interested really. I never trott on roads but have heard to ways of thought re road work being good and not for strengenthing.

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I have always trotted on the road especially up hills and my horses have never had any leg problems.
I worked for a lady who's horse had developed navicular that was brought on by trotting on roads so she didn't trot any of hers on the hard at all. None of her other horses had leg problems either!

So who knows?!
 
I wouldnt trot on the roads as merlin has arthritis..... I would worry about the concussion though.... iron shoes on tarmac.... not a good combination.

That said many people do it with no apparent ill effects.
 
I avoid it if possible, though have been known to trot my stupid strong horse up a long hill if she is being particularly fresh and silly. I know all the stuff about hardening legs but have never seen any science that says concussion is a good thing. People or creatures.
 
Think you're right on that one SeaHorse!

I worked for years with hunters and pointers and can honestly say that not one ever lamed itself by trotting on the road. As long as you build up gradually and sensibly as in walking only for at least a month before you even think of trotting anywhere, making the horse work and not slop along and even after the month still taking it gradually building up from a minute of steady trotting to five of walking then going up to two minutes and so on over a fortnight or so, any horse should be able to do that without harm. Some of our hunters were in their late teens/twenties and it never harmed them. I'm not into trotting for much longer than five minutes at a time, not only for the horse but myself as well - I always get stitch!

If you do hammer along the roads then I think you only have yourself to blame if horse goes wrong, there is absolutely no need for it even when hunting IMO.
 
I trot my boy on the roads.
Not for long periods, maybe only a few hundred meters at a time, and he's fine with it. I would never hammer a horse on the road, but I'd be very concerned if I had a horse who couldn't even manage small amounts of trot work with out suffering
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All my work is on roads unless I box somewhere so I do a lot of trotting on the roads as it is the best way to keep my horse fit and slim. I will do 3 - 6 mile loops all in trot with the exception of down hill sections. But I believe that my horse will be fine with this because he is well put together conformation wise, has a steady stride and strong legs (being a native).
 
Agree with Seahorse, I have done years of fittening work on roads due to no alternative, and this involved long periods of medium trot. The only one that didn't like it (i.e. always moved to the soft verge if possible) sadly had to be put to sleep at 12 due to extremely bad laminitis, (and no the laminitis wasn't caused by us forcing him to hammer along the road, we didn't make him do it because he obviously wasn't comfortable with it, but it did reveal the weakness). Spent a few years doing endurance and this meant hours in trot, which never caused any problems with legs and tendons, well not the horse's anyway ...mine were a bit dodgy at times!
 
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