The Gaited Horse Thread

PasoBaby_CarolU · The Gaited Horse Thread

(I know some of you THINK you like to trot...but...)

Man, can you imagine THIS at a trot??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=H...v=X2o5-BK7atM&feature=related

happycat

JCnTrey · Finding and maintaining gait

Trey, my Rocky Mtn has found his gait. Being the newbie I am.. I'm not sure which gait he is performing. Looks like a running walk. He gaits inbetween a trot and canter. I have not ridden him beyond a walk yet. But my riding instructor says even uncollected it's smooth as glass. I can't wait to become a better rider for him!

Gallop On

Don't have any gaited horses, but would love to own/ride one. Might be training a TWH filly this fall though!!

PasoBaby_CarolU

I have a very good friend in New Hill, NC who raises Paso Finos, does open houses and would LOVE to give you a test ride Sarah.

calatar

I have been working on training Cody, a 4 year old twh for a year or so now and and am so thrilled with our last ride. The owner got him as a three year old and he had 30 days of training and that was it. Thankfully, he has a really great mind and the trainer that started him didn't do anything traumatic. For much of his three year old year I worked with the owner on NH principles and groundwork. She did some light riding but we had not covered that yet in our lessons.

Since September the owner and I have been boarding at the same barn and although she can't do many lessons now (thanks to this lovely economy) I have started riding him some while I am waiting for Eclipse to get more weight on him. His gait is by no means solid and he doesn't really know what a canter is but I think that a lot of this is just being young, awkward, and not knowing very much. That being said, our last trail ride he did a beautiful running walk. Every now and then I would have to bring him down from a trot or pace but 95% of the time he started off and stayed in the running walk. He is barefoot and is ridden in myler comfort snaffle

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gaiting lady

I have two mountain horses and find that they (being left brain) are reluctant to move out. After I started Parelli several years ago, I have no problem getting them to go. When I kiss the one horse moves like a shot a bullet. Parelli is the greatest!!

JCnTrey · Gaited horses and saddle position ?????

Hi Everybody,

I've either read about or watched instructional dvd's regarding the differences in body structure of gaited horses when compared to (for example) a quarter horse.

I seem to remember something being said about saddle fit should be more forward but the cinch farther behind. 6 inches back instead of just behind the leg.

Have any of you had any experience with this? I'm new to horses and mah boy is a rocky mountain horse.

Any knowledge shared would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
JC

gaiting lady

Hi JC,

I have found that using the euro rigging works best for my mountain horses. It is so much more secure and keeps the girth straps away from the elbows. You can do that several ways and if you go to Crestridge saddlery site you can download pics of how to do this. I actually converted my western rigging to the tucker type rigging, which I love!. Had one horse that was rather cinchy until I switched to this kind of rigging.

Marilyn

JCnTrey

Thanks Marilyn,

I have a circle y trail gaiter saddle and originally was using the 3/4 drop down style rigging. Then switched back to western. I was having trouble keeping it tight enough. Perhaps now that I have leather straps and a shorter cinch I'll give it another try.

JC

Clarissa

My mare Jude gaits. It must be a trot gait but she flattens her back out & 'runs'. I can only ride it bareback as I need to sit further back than a saddle would allow but it's very smooth.

Her mother (a Qrab who died at 36 4yrs ago) has old time QH bloodlines (Red Miller) which must've had some gaited blood in them. She prefered to amble & I was told she racked which as I understand it is that rolling trot gait. Not quite sure about that. But she had 5 distinct gaits. She was also one of Australia's first QH ROM winners at Western Pleasure so they probably made use of her gaitedness to give a nice picture.

Pyrgirl

OK, I'm going to ask an ignorant, non-gaited horse person question:

The thing that keeps me from gaited horses so far has been that I like the feel of trotting but also that the gaits LOOK so funny to me.
I guess they look like they are painful for the horse.
Does that motion hurt the horse? The legs move so funny and they always look like their heads are yanked inwards and they are pushing hard in the mouth to get out of it.

Could someone explain this to me? I have no experience with gaited horses other than riding one horse one time. I've never been to a show etc. etc.
Just curious.

gaiting lady

It does look a little odd from a distance, but I assure you, it is not painful for the horses to gait. They gait, because of their structure and it is natural for them to do so.

I also enjoy a trotting horse, and have an Arabian for that. As I have gotten older though, I find that after 20 minutes of riding my Arab my back hurts some. I can ride my Rockies all day and never feel a pain.

Marilyn

Pyrgirl

gaiting lady

I am not professing to be an expert on this subject, but Having been in horses for over 20 years, I have observed some things. The smoothness of gait within breeds can vary greatly, just like personalities. I have not ridden a Paso Fino, but they (as a rule) brag that they are the smoothest. I personally like the rockies because of the gait and the personality. They are generally very laid back. If you like to move out fast maybe a paso is for you. They always seems to have a lot of "brio". This can be a personal preference as to how you like to ride and what you want to do with your horse. My advice is to try the gaited horse out yourself and don't go by the generalities that you hear. Try many breeds and don't just stick to one type. They are all different.

Marilyn

Gallop On

bit

So gaited horses need the cinch back a bit? I have an endurance saddle with two places for the cinch. One is forward, in the "normal" place. The other is a bit further back. Should I be using the other one?

Gismo

Not necessarily , The saddle need to be back far enough to allow the shoulders to move freely. Then see where the best place to attach the girth to.
Because gaited horses move there front legs more , the girth line need to accommodate that concept and not be right behind there legs.

bit

Got it! Thanks, I'll stretch out her front legs and make sure her scapula has plenty of room to move.
I think we cantered, but I'm not sure. I know she was gaiting, and then I asked her if she was ready to go, and I could feel her bunch up and then I said, "ok, let's go!" and it was this chocolate with the creamy center, silky smooth, faster thing. I don't know what she was doing, be we were going faster, and it was so dang smooth I just about melted. I love this horse! I'm a gaited girl! I'll never go back to quarter horses. Man. What a ride! Can you imagine a racking horse????? whoooya!

Gismo

Told ya ............

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PasoBaby_CarolU

Oh yeah...you're hooked.

Gismo

Red is registered as a racking horse (I call him a TWH so I dont have to explain Racking) and has a gait that others would kill for. Then if I ask for more he sometimes breaks into a trot, if you want to call it that. It is the most godawfull trot ever condemned to a horse, much like riding in a steel wheeled wheel barrow, on the railroad track ties, on your way to hell.... Not a fun thing.

After that, faster equals a speed rack, also to die for... beyond that is a high head/ tail up /rocking chair canter where you just sit back and cover the ground. A short gallop an now you know how Roy Rogers feels on Trigger.

Go Gaited or Dont Go.

I have never shown him but starting to think about it. Pleasure and Flat shod (without the shod). I have found shows that allow bitless but dont know about bridleless and bareback yet. Will let you know...

PasoBaby_CarolU

Grant, Red sound FUN.

You might look at FOSH to see if they have any shows in your area. They are pretty open about all things natural. We've even added carrot stick trail class to ours.

Foxtrotalot

I'm with you guys, if I can't go gaited, I don't wanna go. My boys are MO Foxtrotters and are so friendly and sweet. One is a little lazy and needs encouragement to get into his gait. He prefers to cow trot (ouch, ouch, ouch). The other one LOVES to move and do his thing!

PasoBaby_CarolU

BUMP...

It seems we're ready to talk G A I T again!

bit

This may be the wrong angle, so let me know. Dicussion regarding shoulder conformation and the ability to gait smoothly at a higher speed.

Clarissa

Well I've bought this quote over from that thread about the Paso Finos for sale because I am very interested in Carol's comments about how the gaitedness has gotten into the genetics of other breeds.

bit

Kelsey was saying that her arabian, Mo can gate as well. I noticed, (my favorite utube ever!) the racking horse in Carol's post above, the one armed man is riding bareback. I wonder how smooth that horse would be with a saddle. Yep, it seems to work a little better to get off her front end, even more than the "correct seat" calls for. I've heard the expression, "ride em like a Harley".
When it comes to confirmation, is there info about that and gaiting? Wish I could have taken Eclipse to Larry's clinic, coming up. I just don't know enough about this. She sure is a nice ride, though. Even just that little slower gait she has is wonderful. I was talking to my trimmer, who has a paso. She said sometimes gait is about how in shape the horse is. It can be rough if the horse is out of shape, which Eclipse is. That is something I can do something about.

PasoBaby_CarolU

First, Deb, the horse does need to be standing square with their head up. She is twisted in that picture and on a small hill, her neck is coming out at an angle that isn't normal for her.

Clarissa, the original Quarter Horse was bred from the Spanish Mustangs. This is where the gait came from. Today's Quarter Horse is (sadly) mostly Thoroughbred. My guess would be that the closer your horse is to Spanish heritage, the more likely it is to be able to gait.

The gait footfall sequence is identical to the walk. To develop gait where you think you might have some, have them walk faster and faster without breaking into a trot or pace. A lot of horses will develop an ambling gait that is extremely comfortable. My little QH/Arab/Welsh pony would do this because at heart she was a racehorse, and I wouldn't let her go faster then a walk on the way home. She could go as fast as she wanted to..if she walked.

thelmanelle

Hi,
Here is a free online magazine on gaited horses...
FYI...
http://us.mg2.mail.yahoo.com/dc/launch?.gx=1&.rand=0dut7n4g5b4sl

This magazine donates to Stolen Horse International, so I wanted to share the magazine with you.

It may have information you like or dislike, but can discuss.

Sonya

Copious_Amour

Wanted to bring this wonderful topic up again. I just can't get enough of the gaited breeds and all of my show friends think I have gone mental! They all say "Well that horse has a pretty.... color but you should really look into a show horse!" They just don't know!

stella

Thanks, Amour, for those comments...very insightful!
Its all relative to what you get used to seeing, and riding; once you get used to riding mostly gaited, its what becomes "normal," and you get "spoiled to smooth," but I also think, like you, its the exceptional intelligence and willingness to work at 100% effort(in PF "brio" really translates to "volunteerism"-to have heart), to look at work more as a new adventure with you as partner;less fear, more stoicism with trail obstacles....more apt to be curious, even if cautious, about new things...and that's a personal (and awesome!)reward on a daily basis.

But understandable, as gaited horses were bred to be the "travellers," before roads were built, the ground covering long distance horses (they can do that all day and seldom have leg problems because they always have feet on the ground, so never impact their total bodyweight and that of riders' on their legs, because of the lack of suspension, also the element that makes for "smooth").

PasoBaby_CarolU

Stella, Amour is Emili. She is the one who is hopefully buying Starfire from Danni.

(small world, Stella bred both Danni's "wonder horse" Chiron, and my Zar). Emili, you would love to go spend a day at Stella's when you go to see Danni.

I know people get the idea that the gait must take a lot of effort and be hard on the legs, but in reality in all breeds it is the same footfall sequence as the walk, and really is just a very fast walk - 4-beat-gait) that differs in timing, execution and cadence depending on the breed. For this reason other large animals are all "gaited." Elephants, giraffe's, hippos would all suffer a lot of foot and joint problems if they weren't gaited.

The Gaited Horse Thread

Finding and maintaining gait

Gaited horses and saddle position ?????