Does anyone know why harness racing divided into trotters and pacers and is pacing uncomfortable to horses?
Pacers are faster than trotters, which is why you have a division of races. Rarely there are races written as “Free for all,” which means either a trotter or a pacer can be entered. Far from being unnatural, most horses that race at the pace are bred for pacing, and will pace free-legged, though not as fast as they do with racing hopples (those are the things they wear to help keep them on gait). Some pacers are so rock-solid on the pace that they won’t trot, and when they canter they have a pacey-looking canter. Pacing is perfectly natural and comfortable for the horses that are bred for it. It also takes fairly special shoeing to optimize the speed that pacers race at, usually a matter of the shoe weights fore and aft. This is also true for trotters, by the way. If you want to find a shoer who REALLY understands how shoeing affects a horse’s ability to extend himself at any gait, find yourself a shoer who works with stakes-class horses at a harness track. I guarantee you will have a
