How fast do you go?

I read through the whole gaited/non-gaited debate and I got to thinking. I have ridden with gaited horse people that move too fast for me and ones that move along nicely with me. Most of us use GPS devises on the trail, so how fast do you like to go?

I ride an Arab. Depending on the mood, we walk along at 4 miles per hour or 5 miles per hour if the mood is upbeat. If we trot or canter, we usually don't go much over 12 miles per hour. My horse would like to maintain 12 miles per hour for a long time but my body doesn't agree. I get tired and worn out if I do. So how fast is fast? What is ambling along?

Depends on the terrain. On flat, easy going trail it's 8-10mph. On real rough terrain it's down to it's usually down to 2-3 mph. We normally average 5mph over an entire ride and that includes breaks.

Hmmm, I actually have no idea but am going to have to break out the GPS if/when DD and I go out again.

I would say my Mustang averages 2-3mph and my Missouri Fox Trotter 3-4 mph, just plain walking. We really can cover some ground if we mix some gaiting in though!

There have been rides with stops where my Mustang only averages 2 mph and the Fox Trotter 3 mph. But we take frequent stops for watering dogs, answering calls of nature, etc.

Darrin, what gait are you riding at 8-10 mph?

Gaited horse rider here! She's a slow walking gaited who has no trouble riding with non-gaited horses. Most gaited horses walk too fast for her, so we like to stay with the Arabs. They walk a perfect speed for us most of the time.

My mare walks 4 miles per hour.

Her gait is only about 8 mph max, but she can contain herself and gait at the speed of a western extended jog. We primarily gait over touchy terrian where her trot would be too fast or over short distances. It isn't a very efficient gear for long distances due to all her fancy action and short stride.

She can easily trot 12 miles per hour. This is the gait we do over flat trail.

Her canter is pretty fast. 16 mph at the slowest. We use to sparingly on good, flat, open areas. Makes up time well and doesn't take as much energy as an extended trot.


On average, we try to mantain a 10 mph pace over long distances. I mix it up. Sometimes we canter 30 straight minutes. Sometimes we walk for hours.

Running walk.

Wow, your horse must be very fit! We never maintain that fast a pace overall and I've never cantered for that long either.

Awesome!

The speed I go depends on who I'm with and the footing. My horse and I like to go fast, but the people who usually want to tag along just want to walk at a shuffling pace (they're afraid to ride alone).

Tangent: How in the world do you figure out mph on horseback? Tell me there's an iphone app or gadget that I can buy!

GPS! Or if you know how many miles you've ridden, divide that by the number of hours. For instance, one one ride we did 16 miles in 4 hours, so I figured we averaged 4 MPH. But the GPS will tell you the speed you are traveling as you are moving, which is really cool.