Trotting on the roads - is it harmful?

I'm not a big fan of trotting shod horses on the road, I feel the jarring in my own joints so i'm pretty sure they do too, roads are getting slippier too!
In days gone by when I did trot more on the roads it was always a balanced trot rather than just hammering along, equally any walking will be far more beneficial in terms of fitness if its a proper walk rather than a wander.

Nowadays I don't worry too much as mine are barefoot and we both feel far less concussion and we don't slip either.
 
I will walk at a good pace on the road but not trot if i can help it, im of the opinion this is just as benificial for tendons and ligaments but better for the joints.
I do believe some horses cope better than others with more intense roadwork and like most things its down to the individual horse and how they cope with the hardness of the surface.
 
hannahmurphy said:
Trotting on roads uphill is fantastic for them is all manner of ways. I had regular small bursts of trot on the roads, as long as it's all under control and they are working properly it's fine. It only becomes a problem if you're mindlessly hammering along for ages & ages ....
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I used to think a quiet, long, trot uphill was a good thing as the horse is using hindquarters, but I have read a lot of stuff about injuries in the sacroiliac joint, so now not so sure.
I think it like everything, moderation in all things, and regular building up fitness.
I would query any vet telling me to trot on the roads, is he looking for more custom!!!
 
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I think its finding the happy medium I think as long as the horse is fit has good feet some road trotting is fine. I was always and still told lungeing and going in circles in a menage and jumping are more likely to put extra strain on horses legs etc....again happy medium. I like to have a trot road/bridleway etc etc
 
I trot on the road all the time - my horses are unshod and their feet do their job absorbing a lot of impact. We live in a rocky desert terrain and, if I am honest, the best place for us to canter out hacking is on the lovely 500m long tarmac road to the local quarry. I have no qualms at all about trotting and cantering on the roads with them and our sand (basically grit) arena is as hard as iron and we jump in there. We don't have any apparent tendon or joint issues. (FB has lived here virtually all his life and is 15 now)

I took one of the livery horses (shod) out the other day for exercise and was shocked at the different 'feel' when riding as its feet hit the road surface - even in walk. We had to do a tiny trot and I thought my teeth would fall out! So, I think it is a totally different thing for the shod horse and can understand the jarring worries.
 
Scientifically trotting on the road does increase bone mineral content so controlled trotting on level or up hill surface is beneficial. BUT too much concussion/trotting can also then decrease bone mineral content. So trotting on the road is good but just dont do too much!

My friends horse has really bad feet was pulling 2/3 shoes off between each shoeing every 4 weeks, she has now stopped trotting on the road and in the last 3 months no lost shoes.
 
skewby said:
Gosh am I the only one who believes it's good for a horse to trot on roads as it strengthens and hardens tendons/ligaments? I thought race trainers did this on purpose? Have I imagined this? I hunt and am over the moon to have moved to a yard with lots of roadwork, so many people moan about it but having come from fields only I'm dead pleased as I always hated hammering up roads hunting when we'd not been on any since the last meet!
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i agree with this - i ws always told it was a way of getting a horse fit and hardens tendons/ligamnets:)
 
sorry forgot to mention farrier also recommended trotting on the roads especially when roads are slipy as when trotting correctly horse is less likely to slip:)
 
skydancer said:
sorry forgot to mention farrier also recommended trotting on the roads especially when roads are slipy as when trotting correctly horse is less likely to slip:)
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Less likely than cantering or galloping, not when walking surely... a four beat gait!
No one is UK would go for cantering or galloping on a road with shod horses as a means of "hardening ligaments"
I don't discuss these things with my farrier, seems very strange.
There is one thing to remember, basic school physics, force [how hard you will hit the road] equals mass [weight of you + horse] times acceleration [ speed of horse, ie 4 or 10 mph]
 
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Thanks very much. Interesting, the different responses: think I will go for short bursts of controlled trotting. He is a fit horse and his legs are fine and he seems to enjoy and I definitely do. I am working on getting him off the forehand and concentrate on this just as much when hacking as schooling.
 
YorksG said:
There is a vast difference between hammering a horse in trot on the road and trotting properly on the road. If the horse is banging along on the forehand, then it is not good for it, if it is trotting properly, under control, then I think it does no harm. We have always trotted on the roads and never had any lameness issues.
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Totally agree with you YorksG....I have always worked a horse collected in trot on the roads,and have never had any soundness issues,I believe it does there legs good tbh if done correctly!
 
No is it heck!

A few months ago, my two finely built TBs gave me a heart attack and jumped the five bar gate out of their field. Spent half and hour galloping, and i mean galloping around the village roads. The next day once they were caught (!) only one of them was ever so slightly lame, the other was fine.
 
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