I was reading a Clinton Anderson book today (I'm not a fan of him but he does have good things to say from time to time) and he had an interesting idea: that when you go out on a trail ride you should make sure to incorporate all three gaits to get the horse's mind really working and to get them thinking about rating their own speed.
Well, I liked the idea of incorporating that into my rides with Lacey but since I can only trail ride on the asphalt road, I want to make sure it'd be alright for her hooves if we were cantering on the road. She's barefoot and I don't want to cause her harm. I do trot her on the road sometimes but she needs canter work...