I frequently see misunderstanding in people over horses 'running' and 'lengthening': they aren't able to tell the difference between the two. In this article, I'm not only going to elucidate these two terms, I will also shed a bit of light on two other terms: 'medium gaits' and 'extended gaits'.
Running
When your pony reacts to your cue to lengthen frame and walk and the result is that his tempo (rate that the rhythm repeats) gets faster, your horse is not lengthening. He's running.
Lengthening
When your pony lengthens effectively, he is actually stretching out his frame and stride as much as he will be able to without changing his rhythm or speed, at a rather early phase of the coaching (the first level or thereabouts). What this achieves is that each stride covers more ground.
Lengthenings derive from working trots and canters. The horse is generally in what may be called 'horizontal balance' while on working gaits, and he will remain that way while lengthening. By 'horizontal balance' I mean the horse's topline pretty much is parallel to the ground.
Medium gaits
At a medium gait, your pony will have lengthened his frame and stride a little without changing rhythm or speed. A medium gait falls between a collected gait and an extended gait where length of frame and strides is concerned, and has a rounded movement as compared to extended gaits.
Medium gaits arise from collected gaits and the horse's balance differs from what it is with lengthenings. The horse's topline is more curved than it seems with a lengthening. More like a compressed spring being held in the front with leg driving the hindquaters forward.
Extended gaits
When your horse is in an extended gait, he has lengthened his frame and strides to the maximum, without changing rhythm or speed.
Running
When your pony reacts to your cue to lengthen frame and walk and the result is that his tempo (rate that the rhythm repeats) gets faster, your horse is not lengthening. He's running.
Lengthening
When your pony lengthens effectively, he is actually stretching out his frame and stride as much as he will be able to without changing his rhythm or speed, at a rather early phase of the coaching (the first level or thereabouts). What this achieves is that each stride covers more ground.
Lengthenings derive from working trots and canters. The horse is generally in what may be called 'horizontal balance' while on working gaits, and he will remain that way while lengthening. By 'horizontal balance' I mean the horse's topline pretty much is parallel to the ground.
Medium gaits
At a medium gait, your pony will have lengthened his frame and stride a little without changing rhythm or speed. A medium gait falls between a collected gait and an extended gait where length of frame and strides is concerned, and has a rounded movement as compared to extended gaits.
Medium gaits arise from collected gaits and the horse's balance differs from what it is with lengthenings. The horse's topline is more curved than it seems with a lengthening. More like a compressed spring being held in the front with leg driving the hindquaters forward.
Extended gaits
When your horse is in an extended gait, he has lengthened his frame and strides to the maximum, without changing rhythm or speed.
About the Author:
Horses are Heather Toms
passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of
articles with other horse lovers visit HorseHorses
passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of
articles with other horse lovers visit HorseHorses
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