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Originally Posted by oracle80
Rup,
different muscle groups are used to negotiate different surfaces.
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I have heard that too. I think it's Michael Dickinson who will actually switches off every other day and gallops his horses on the turf one day and the dirt the next day. I think he believes that one surface strengthens the tendons and ligaments while the other surface strengthens the muscles or something like that.
Even assuming that is true, we know that turf horses don't need to train on the turf to run well on the turf. I don't know if the same would hold true the opposite way. This would never happen but I wonder if a horse who only trained on the grass would still run well his first time on the dirt.