Slow paced trail horse (long)

[DackelMom]

Hi all, I'm a bit torn and need advice.
I've had Pixie for about 8 months. She is a grade QH cross, 14 yrs old, 14.2 HH, 900 lbs. When I started working with her this spring, we ran into some serious respect issues on the ground. She was running over me, the vet and the farrier when she didn't feel like getting handled. I've been working with an excellent trainer and Pixie and I have made alot of progess on the ground and I believe that it is carrying over on my relationship with her when we ride as well. We've been trail riding (2-3 hrs, 2 times a week) and she is doing pretty well. No longer scared of cars, she crosses logs, water, etc.
The problem: her normal pace is slower than the other horses that I'm riding with. I've gone out with a couple of different groups of riders (all very kind and patient) and I'm always behind everyone. I have to constantly urge her to catch up. I miss out on conversations and am self conscious that I'm holding others up. She is nice and quiet on the trail (usually) but she is pokey.
How important is this? I'm not sure, just trying to figure it out. My husband's arab walks faster but I don't mind if I hold him up. I'm thinking about getting more into trail riding and am not sure if she is the best for the job. I have a yearling QH that I'll hopefully be using for the trails but he is a good three years out. There are too many horses on the market here for me to even think I can get a decent price for her. Plus, I feel responsible for her well being. I'd probably have to put about $4K into a new horse and let her be a pasture babe for a while (we have three other horses so it does get expensive). Sorry, this is so long. Just wondering how other trail riders feel about the pokey horses or how you handle keeping up with everyone. Thanks. Here we are together:

[ohiobred]

she just doesn't have a fast walk. but i bet she's got a slow trot. u will just have to work on a faster walk. your solution, get a walking horses. lol

[dproaps]

Wow, I wish you lived closer, I'd take her off your hands! Seriously, I love a pokey horse!

[dproaps]

Oh, to answer your question, I just poke along at the back of the crowd and enjoy the scenery.

Of course, we have several horses to ride, so it's not as difficult, we can pick. I wish I had a good quiet "pokey" horse now, all of ours are so competitive and none of them are really slow.

[Carri]

If she is really not what you are looking for, and you are not happy riding her, I am sure she would make someone incredibly happy, so I wouldn't see anything wrong with letting her go to a new home.

[greygirls]

Southie's like that. She's always the biggest horse with the longest legs (not to mention the only so-called race horse) but she always brings up the rear. She can trot faster than most horses can canter but she just plods along at the walk. I don't mind that on the trail, it's meant to be relaxing but in the ring, it drives me crazy.

[Whitehorse]

Horses are like people... some like to take it slower than others and stop and smell the flowers. I have a Mustang gelding just like what you describe... he is the most reliable trail horse I have but he likes to take it nice and slow. Would I use him for competitive trail riding?... No... but... anyone can ride him and he is a safe mount in the woods and he is great on camping trips too. I can cross raging rivers on his back and he doesn't flinch. A horse like that to me is very valuable and I used to wish he went faster until I realized that maybe it is me that needs to slow down and smell the flowers and take in the scenery... he has taught me a lot... he is one of those horses that if you stop and listen... you can almost hear him say... "what's the rush?" I sure wish I had room to take another horse... i would buy yours in a heart beat...

[BklynCwgrl]

My friend has a pokey paint...she's always way behind me. Sometimes I have to plop my horse behind hers, just so we can have a conversation! I don't really like to hold mine back all the time...I think it's annoying for me and for my horse...but if I plop her behind, she'll go slower. I don't think it's bad to have a pokey horse. I'm hoping my two year old QH turns out to be pokier than the horse I ride now. But, if you want a faster horse, I'm sure there are ways to teach a horse to walk out.

[DackelMom]

Thanks all. I was just out giving her a bath and I have mixed emotions. I tend to be a half empty kind of person and you all have pointed out that a pokey horse aint all bad! I'll talk with my trainer on Tuesday, he used to run guided trips into the rocky mountains. He'd talked to me before about constantly urging a horse along, it desensitizes them to the cues. I'll have to follow up on it with him.

[merleliz]

Wish you were closer to Georgia! I'm looking for a pokey slow horse to ride trails on! If she's slow and child safe, she'd be worth her weight in gold around here!

[jtfer1968]

I have a pokey trail horse and I love her!! I have to trot or jog to catch up or sometimes I can push her with my seat to get her to walk a little faster and keep up with the crowd. I would not trade her for the world. She is the horse in my avatar.

[Wendy F]

First of all I run barrels. The ONLY time I like mine to want to go is in that arena. I have been riding a friend of mines 1D horse and he always says on the trails that something must be wrong with him. I keep telling him that nothing is wrong, "That is how I like mine" I make mine stay back. i do not like one that steps out. A trail ride is for relaxation, and one that is pokey usually makes a good kids horse. That is exactly what I want in a horse. (A sloe laid back horse that goes or wants to when asked)
Let the horse relax when it is trail riding. It will want to be ridden and can be enjoyable. I have owned and had an Arab. They naturally step out. It is the difference in breeds. I have friends that ride up ahead. I don't care. My horses are always last, but you can bet they are saner!

[DackelMom]

You guys are great, thanks for pointing out the positives. I feel like I'm riding a pony and following the grown ups! It sounds like my horse is fine and I should go into therapy to work on my feelings of inferiority!!

[pippy]

In my opinion if you like everything about him but his pokiness then I'd be forgiving about it. We had a gelding that way, my hubby would ride him.
We'd just wait for him to catch up or else hubby would do a slow trot. Either way it worked out, ours was trained to a T and great in all the ways, just pokie on the trails. As far as how do I feel if I have to slow down and wait for someone to catch up- that sort of thing does not bother me whether I am w/ one friend or a huge group. I think for most people, they are not going to mind waiting.
Also, how good of shape is he in? If he's a bit out of shape--stiff and not so flexible-- then as he gets in better shape, maybe he'll walk out a bit faster.

[missa]

My arab is a pokey horse. I am usually dead last and lagging. But I enjoy it. When I am on a trail I am not in a hurry. Sometimes people even use her pokiness to slow their horse down. If they are trying to teach their horse to slow down they just put them behind her. I would rather be slow and steady than fast and have an accident.

[Horselessnomore]

I have the opposite problem. My TWH walks faster than the other horses, so I am always out front by myself. I dont' want to keep slowing him down, because that frustrates him and I would be constantly sitting back and checking him. His faster running walk is about the same as the other's trot. I just miss out on a lot of the conversation . . . . . . .

[Crookedblaze]

Aww she is SO cute! I love dappled grey...she looks like she's scheming in that picture.

LOL Rocket has that same problem. A friends little sister has a 9 hand pony walks faster then he does.

I like my horses kind of pokey. I've never really found anything that I can do to make him a little more excited, he just plods on along. He does has a fantastic slow wp jog, though, and that is how he keeps up (or even a really nice collected sloooooow lope). The pokiness also makes him about 100% bombproof. It is also really nice on wilderness rides or if you have a camera...you get to enjoy the scenery!

[DackelMom]

As I'm thinking about it, I think it might be due a bit to lack of conditioning as Pippy mentioned above. I mean, she is a little horse so her steps will always be a little shorter but I think she might be running out of steam as we go along. We've been riding mostly weekends (I work full time during the week) and she is carrying a little extra weight. When we head out with others, she does a better job of keeping up. As we get along in the ride, she gets slower and slower. She crawls along until she figures out we are close to home and then she really steps it up. I really appreciate everyone's posts. Thanks again.

[ahlihaff]

She is a pretty horse, and you look good together. My horse also walks slower than other horses. His stride is shorter.

Just a thought here - in my opinion, it is more important that you are having a conversation with your horse than with other riders. By this I mean always letting your horse know that you are with them by communicating with your body. If your horse becomes worried about something along the way, she will know she is not alone. Being in the saddle is not enough. Communicate by bending, backing, leg yields, etc. as you ride along.

[jjsimsez]

Originally Posted by Horselessnomore

I have the opposite problem. My TWH walks faster than the other horses, so I am always out front by myself. I dont' want to keep slowing him down, because that frustrates him and I would be constantly sitting back and checking him. His faster running walk is about the same as the other's trot. I just miss out on a lot of the conversation . . . . . . .

yep,i got this prob too.sucks dont it!my girl at best guess is a quarter/saddlebred.maybe ill post and ask opinions on her breed.she walks real fast.everyone in our family walks along,while im way in front.they all trot to catch up.sometimes i put her in second.i have to stop on occasion and wait.all my crew are beginners and i dont like to be far in case of a prob.
wanna trade,dakelsmom?your horse sure is pretty.