>>> Certainly nearly all five gaited (ie with pace) horses can do a nice trot without suspension, the definition of jog, I believe (it's not much recognised in the UK, being looked on as "faulty" in most breeds, though it's much more comfortable to ride and presumably uses much less energy).
If you are talking about a jog like a QH might do (no, not the extreme jog-in-place like the show western pleasure horses do) I think there's more to it than just a lack of suspension. There's also a notable relaxed air to the horse, and jog strides aren't terribly long and ground-covering. It's a relaxed trail gait, which along with the lack of suspension makes it a gait you can ride all day. A good many "real world" QH's (meaning those not bred for the extreme w/p crap - I don't know much about them) will freely offer a nice little jog under saddle, but if you ask them to "kick it up a notch", they will go ahead and do what most people would consider a "trot". To me, the difference between the two gaits includes all of the above. I guess if you really wanted to count jog as a separate gait from trot (I don't really) I think you'd find that a good many QH are "naturally four-gaited." :) I know a lot of Icelandics can trot with very little suspension, but only a few come to my mind has having a "jog." One would be Falki, who also has a nice "real trot" - my nephew discussed riding him in a little local w/p class, but his soccer schedule interfered. I don't think Falki would win an adult's w/p class with a bunch of QH if the competition was even semi-serious, but I think it would have been interesting to see him in a kid's low-stress class. There was also one or two at Robyn's clinic that I felt do what I'd call a jog. But the one who really comes to my mind is Janice's Tivar. He's really got a very nice, ride-all-day jog. Tivar may be gait-challenged but with a jog like his, maybe he really isn't. :) Interestingly enough, none of the ones that I think of having a jog (as I think of the gait) have much (if any) pace in their repertoire to speak of at all. I could be wrong - I never spent a lot of time analyzing the QH's that I've owned in the past, but I think one contributing factor to a horse having a nice jog is having a rather upright shoulder, although not all horses with upright shoulders seem to jog equally. I believe the angle and length of the humerus bone is a big factor too. I think if the humerus is long and angled up towards the front of the horse, there's a tendency for the horse to lift his knees - the angle of the shoulder will either neutralize that tendency or emphasize it, since the bones work together. A horse with knee action probably isn't going to have much of a jog...I think... I need to think about that. Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.20.0/1268 - Release Date: 2/9/2008 11:54 AM IceHorses Community for Photos and Videos: http://kickapps.com/icehorses "The greatest enemy of the truth very often is not the lie- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic." "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer [] Lee Ziegler http://leeziegler.com [] Liz Graves http://lizgraves.com [] Lee's Book Easy Gaited Horses http://tinyurl.com/7vyjo [] IceHorses Map http://www.frappr.com/IceHorses Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
