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 Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
   
Location: Kansas | Herbie - 2014-06-09 4:30 PM Throughout my training process, I will challenge a colt before they are ready and ask for them a little more than what they are prepared for.....I "put them on their honor" to work without so much of my help. This lets me know where they are strong and they are weak and shows me what I need to work on and what is they are solid on. Sometimes they surprise me in a good one and sometimes in a bad way....and sometimes they are right where I think they are.
On your horse, sounds like you've kept him slow and steady for a long time, so he's probably pretty solid. I say go for it. If you start seeing some problems, tune them up and go again. Just know that yours and his timing may be off a little with a big increase in speed. Don't be upset if you both make mistakes for a bit while learning each other at the new speed. Just keep entering and it will come together.
I do that too. You can always back off the speed and slowly work up to it again. A horse doesn't come untrained in one wild run.
OP, ideally you want smooth AND fast, and a lot of times smooth IS fast but you can have too much of either one. |
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Pig-Bear Dog Lover
| Smooth is fast.. just speaking generally most of the fast runs I see have exceptional form. I delayed commenting because I thought it was a given. |
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Veteran
Posts: 183
| Lots of great thoughts. IMO at the big ones these days with the quality of horse and rider, you better have gobs of both speed and form! lol |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 371
| RodeoRider97 - 2014-06-08 12:34 PM
3 To Go - 2014-06-08 1:20 PM
It is a speed event and you are being timed. There is no one judging how pretty your run is or if you have good form. I've been outrun a lot by some ugly looking runs! At the end of the day, it's a speed event.
I completely agree although I don't blow through them I have been beat by some girls who bounce every where. Kick and spur their horses to death and completely have no balance but yet they still beat me even if it's a tenth of a second off. But I'd rather have my horse go through them clean, straight and balanced than sloppy, curvy, and off balance. Because if they start doing that it'll show up in their slow work.
your horse will also not hold up as well if they are not balanced in their turns. I believe that poor form and the horse using themselves poorly causes a lot more soreness issues than the horses who runs with good form and are balanced. |
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 I Am Always Right
Posts: 4264
Location: stray dump capital of the world | I tend to think that form is better. If you have your form down, then when speed is added, it won't be sloppy, jerky, or at risk of hitting barrels. I think if form is off (either with the horse or the rider), then you are only setting yourself and the horse up for picking up bad habits.
I'm just now attempting speed after a year off due to an accident. When I hauled a couple of weeks ago, (just an exhibition) my mare refused to add speed and I was frustrated. I could feel my balance was horribly off, my left leg still goes numb and she knew it. My husband video taped it. The horse's form was great whereas I looked like an unwilling, flopping participant. LoL
My plan is to work on my form and add speed as needed. If we (I) suck like I did a couple weeks ago, then I'll work on me and add or take away speed as needed. The key for me is for the both of us to be successful. I left that arena knowing I had left my horse frustrated.
Edited by sophiebelle 2014-06-10 8:00 AM
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | speed...............
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