Trotting on roads - is it ok?

ok, all shoot me down if you will, i have a 13 yr old pony with shoes on, her natural most comfortable pace is trot. we hunt and are doing fitness training to do our first endurance ride.
we do road work 4 times a week, and each time trot for anything between 1/2 hr and 1 hour on the roads - at a controlled pace.

never had a problem with lameness *touch wood*
ive been doing this 6 weeks now and my pony is the fittest shes ever been and i have lost an inch off my thighs! so no complaining from me!!

the ground round us gets rock hard in summer - atleast the road is flat and smooth, the farm tacks and byways are uneven and rutted and hard as the tarmac!
 
When my older endurance horse was diagnosed with navicular disease 3 years ago, both my vet and my farrier suspected that his conformation coupled with many miles of trotting on roads, both in training and in competition, had contributed to the early onset (he was 14). Until then I'd been of the 'moderate trotting on roads hardens the tendons' school of thought.

Now, with my young horse, I rarely trot on roads, knowing that he will have to do plenty in competition. We get fit on hills and in forestry. My farrier is delighted with the effects of reduced concussion on feet and shoes, and I can't help feeling that it will benefit joints as well over the long term.
 
I personally don't trot on the roads because of D's joint problem.
Excessive trotting on the road can cause splints and trotting downhill on the road can cause unnecessary concussion.
I have read though that trotting uphill is good for horses quarters (does'nt need to be on road) and doesn't it strengthen eventers tendons if built up gradually?
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You'd never finish an endurance ride within the minimum time if you didn't trot on the roads. I try to do as little road work as possible when training at home but definitely trot on the roads when I need to. The OP who said you should only trot on the roads if shod has it the wrong way round. If my horse was barefoot I'd trot on the roads more because of the better shock absorbancy of natural feet and much better grip.
 
I do but at a gentle space and only for up to 5 mins at a time but may do 15 mins on a hack.

With Cairo though, he has low ring bone so we avoid trotting on any hard surface.

I have trotted with shoed on unshoed horses.
 
in regards to not trotting on roads if not shod,i didnt say oh my god dont do it its bad etc etc
i just said it wasnt advisable
we all have different opinions on this subjuct and each to there own
i just personaly dont !!!!
 
I would never trot on roads (not that I hack anymore!). I know that there's good and bad of doing so, but my first pony got what we believe was concussive laminitis, which I can only think was a result of me trotting him on the roads (I was only 9 and had never even heard of concussion a that point!). As a result I would not choose to trot any of mine on the roads, although I have trotted once or twice during endurance rides to keep up with the time!

Although TBH Id be happier to trot an unshod horse than a shod one. Its the metal shoes which I think exaggerates concussion so unshod ones IMO are better off.
 
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