Can Standardbreds Trot and Canter?
Of course they can… It’s a myth that they can’t!! Most Standardbreds freely trot and canter in the paddock. In fact, if you go down to the local harness track on a Saturday morning, you’ll often see horses being jogged at the trot, or even cantered in the cart (termed as “galloping” in the harness circle). So why the pace? It’s simply a quicker and more ground-covering gait than the trot. While their are indeed trot races, pacing is the more predominant of the two gaits. When taking in an off the track (OTT) Standardbred, we need to remember that often for years, the horse has been trained to use his muscles in a completely different way. The pace is a very lateral gait, and the horse is pulling into the cart rather than pushing. Because of this, they build muscles in an “upside down” manner. Rather than forming a topline like any other ‘typical’ performance horse, they form more of a “bottom line” … Rebuilding these muscles takes time! It’s not that they can’t do it, or they’re to
