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scribbles
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Sat Oct 4th, 2008 08:13 pm |
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I mean they will consistently gait on a loose rein without having to work at it. I am just wondering if gaitedness (if that's a word) is strongly inherited in gaited horses or if training is needed to get them there. It seems that I read a lot on this forum about problems getting horses to gait.
Maybe the people who don't have problems don't post and those that do have problems are the ones making all the posts?
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Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of the tick, I shall fear no insect; for OFF is with me.
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ChampagneTobe
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Sat Oct 4th, 2008 08:45 pm |
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I can tell you that Cajun has potential but that he hasn't ever gaited on his own since I've had him, and his pedigree is phenomenal. He's a trotter. <sigh> But remember he's only 3 and.... he has potential!
CT
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"God forbid I should go to a heaven where there are no horses" R.B. Cunningham Graham
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ssecmft
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Sat Oct 4th, 2008 10:30 pm |
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JMO, but I believe the potencial is there in the majority. I also believe the majority carry the blood lines to gait. Most will show it at a very early age, sometimes less than a week old. I think my question would be.... how many of them get the early training to maintain that? I think many of us can safely say that we have come from non-gaited backgrounds. We are all learning how to ride these horses differently than our trotty horses were. Some of these horses are being ridden differently than previously. From my own experiences, I personally have had to change my style of riding to get the best out of my mare. Once I began riding her better it was like a light came on for both of us. I also have learned how to get my old mare to gait better for her sake as well as mine. The QH types and Arab types that I have had in the past had thier problems too, but now I have learned that those problems may well have stemmed from ill fitting tack and feed problems that never dawned on me then. I didn't know that equine cyro's even existed 2 years ago. I've called former owners to ask how they were used and ridden and found out that some didn't know any more than I did. Sooooo... I read lots of things, watch lots of video and ask lots of dumb(?) questions untill I get an answer that makes sense to me. I've read Brenda's articles until I feel comfortable going out and trying them, practice, practice, and it works. If horses have a bad start and have gotten away with things then you just have to start at square one. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. You have to know for yourself if your willing to put in the effort it will take or give in and say enough is enough. It's been an interesting year and a half and feel I have lots more to learn. I've been very lucky in that the horses I have are very forgiving. It's kind of" OK stupid, if that's what you want" and then I finally figure it out. I'm sure that Brenda's tack would make a world of difference for all of them. If I could afford it, I would buy 4 sets of everything but since that's not possiable, I 've been able to accomplish much with what I have. Wow, dident reolize I was so long winded. I think it's a personal choice as to what you're willing to do to get to your goal.
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Dreamer
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Sun Oct 5th, 2008 12:48 am |
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| This is such a great question. I have 3 Icelandics-2 gait well one paces. I have 3 Mountain horses, 1 gaits 2 trot. I have 2 Foxtrotters,1 paces one trots. I am trying to do everything I read but my big problem is I let other people ride them who don't have a clue and everything goes away. I just have too many horses and not enough time to keep them all in shape.
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Karal
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Sun Oct 5th, 2008 02:20 am |
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TWH - trots - does gait at times but very difficult to get him in gait.
MFT - gaits well
2 - SSH - both gait very well - the 2 yr old I have only gaited a couple strides while riding. Gaits freely in the pasture, he was born gaiting.
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Daphne
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Sun Oct 5th, 2008 03:05 pm |
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All three of my TWH hit the ground gaiting. That's why I brought them home. Now I have two of them under saddle, but only the 4 1/2 year old have I started asking for any gaiting at all. He is so multi talented I just have to let him know which gait I prefer and teach him to stay in that gait.
Makes it sound simple right? Of course not, which is why the articles and discussions on this board are wonderful and so helpful. It's not that the horses aren't naturally gaited, they are naturally capable of various gaits, some are smooth, some are not. Just like training them to do anything else, when that communication has connected between rider and horse it is wonderful thing and an awesome feeling.
JMHO.
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Will Ride for Christ
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ChampagneTobe
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Sun Oct 5th, 2008 03:28 pm |
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I saw photos of Cajun when he was just a few weeks old doing an amazing runwalk. I think being permitted to develop easier gaits as a youngster is a major factor. For example, where i got Cajun (Cloud 9 Walkers), they raise a good many of the horses they sell. They are imprinted at birth and Laura ponies them frequently-in gait - with the 4-wheeler at first and then with other horses, from a very early age. They grow up gaiting like fools. What happened to Cajun then, you say? Well, let me tell you. Laura got cancer. She spent months and months in and out of the hospital after Cajun was born. She spent a little time with him after he was born and then was able to do virtually nothing with him until I bought him. He was cared for and socialized, but not worked with. Wouldn't you know I ended up with one that slipped through the cracks? When I work with him in the round pen, he gaits very easily now that he understands what I want. It's very hard for him to translate that to the saddle though. Must have something to do with weight balance. He knows what i want and he complies immediately, but in the saddle he breaks into a trot after just a few steps of gait, no matter what the speed. I'm not pushing him...we'll get it eventually, but the point is, he never gaits at liberty. Trot , trot, and more trot. Blaze however does gait at liberty and is very easy to get into gait from the saddle.
CT
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"God forbid I should go to a heaven where there are no horses" R.B. Cunningham Graham
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slipslider
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Sun Oct 5th, 2008 05:22 pm |
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| The horse is my Avatar, TWH gaits naturally. No training, nice walking gait. Actually this smoothest walker I have yet ridden. She does need to learn some collection & learn to speed up without loosing gait, but her smooth gait is there, no training.
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LaVonne
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irish1223
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Mon Oct 6th, 2008 01:45 am |
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| Wow, CT, I didn't realize you got Cajun from Cloud 9 Walkers. I drool over Laura's horses all the time! Tried to contact her via e-mail awhile back when I was first looking for a TN Walker, but never heard back from her. I knew that she had been sick, so I didn't push the issue. No wonder your little guy is so pretty!
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In my opinion, a horse is the animal to have. Eleven-hundred pounds of raw muscle, power, grace, and sweat between your legs - it's something you just can't get from a pet hamster. ~Author Unknown
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SPOTD RIDR
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Mon Oct 6th, 2008 02:34 am |
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I do believe my mare is very natural,spotted TWH that Racks, she was green broke when I bought her and she was my first so I knew pretty much nothing, but I knew enough when I rode her that she was smooth as glass at certain speeds and would get trotty at others so I just held lite contact on her at that point and really only have to slow her down or let her speed up . I just don't feel like I knew enough at that point to teach her squat, she just did it, so I call her natural.
Know Cruz is pacey and I have a very hard time getting him at just the right speed to get his best gait and he does a RW, now my husband can get on him and it does not take him long to get him in gait and keep him in it, he has the potential for a great RW horse but he will have to be trained to maintain it and I cannot do it, I can ride and keep a horse in gait that is already trained but my reflexes and coordination is not good enough to get it all timed right to help the horse enough to learn from me.
My husbands TWH is pacey and had to be taught to gait he does a RW now and is pretty easy to get him to maintain gait but it took a couple of years to get him to that point.
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Karen A
G.O.G Community Member
| Joined: | Sun Jul 30th, 2006 |
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Posted: Mon Oct 6th, 2008 08:19 pm |
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| I just purchased my first gaited horse 2 years ago. I had always had Quarter horses. It seems crazy now that I thought that my 3 year old gaited horse should gait perfectly at that age when I know that even trotty horses need work on their gaits to perfect them but I didn't make the connection until I saw Brenda's DVD. He is 5 now and gaits beautifully but I had to spend a year working on getting him to stop step pacing and gait correctly. There may be some that start out with a better gait than others but I think it is more common for people to have to spend some time working with the horse to perfect their gaits. Think how long it takes to get a collected canter out of a trotty horse. People spend years on that alone. Even if a horse gaits naturally out in the pasture, they get thrown off by having to adjust to a rider's weight. The potential is there but it takes time and knowledge to bring it out. I had no idea what I was doing but Brenda's exercises are simple enough to follow. It was amazing to me that when I met up with some gaited riders in the park last month, I was able to explain to them that their horses were step pacing and use my horse as an example of what they should be doing. One woman had been riding gaited horses for 10 years and she didn't know that her horse was step pacing rather than racking.
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Running Free
G.O.G Community Member
| Joined: | Wed Aug 13th, 2008 |
| Location: | Morganton, NC |
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Posted: Mon Oct 6th, 2008 08:57 pm |
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| I bought 2 gaited horses this year (my first ever experience with gaited horses) and the first one, Tender, gaits very naturally and prefers it to the trot, even in the field. We bought her from the breeder and trainer so we know the history with her. My second, Mohegan, was passed around a few times and has a hard time with his gaits. In fact he started getting really sloppy and I just figured out that I was relaxing him so much that he was nearly falling asleep! The last time I rode him I "woke him up" and we had a really fun ride. Still working with the gait but he tries really hard.
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spirit
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Posted: Mon Oct 6th, 2008 09:58 pm |
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Daphne wrote: It's not that the horses aren't naturally gaited, they are naturally capable of various gaits, some are smooth, some are not. Just like training them to do anything else, when that communication has connected between rider and horse it is wonderful thing and an awesome feeling.
I never gave much thought to this but you've really made me think Daphne! My dog could certainly walk, run, sit, lie down, etc. when I got him. When I put him on a leash though, there was a learning process involved for both of us so he would do those things at the speeds and times I wanted.
I think this is the best explanation I ever heard! It makes so much sense now why we work so hard on what we thought would just happen once we mounted up.
I'm feeling dumb but the bulb is getting brighter. 
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ssecmft
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Mon Oct 6th, 2008 10:34 pm |
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I felt like you. If trotty horses trot, then gaity horses should gait.
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spirit
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Posted: Mon Oct 6th, 2008 11:56 pm |
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| Yes, trotty horses trot. You still need to teach them (and the rider) things like how/when to adjust the speed of the trot and to shorten or lenghten their stride when you request. At least you do if you show or want to be at the right spot to take jumps.
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ssecmft
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Tue Oct 7th, 2008 12:50 am |
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Even to ride a trail comfortable.
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offgridgirl
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Sun Oct 12th, 2008 01:31 am |
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Good question...My guy gaits when I'm NOT on him as he is going away from me(usually cuz I'm pestering him while he grazing) hehehehe I've watched a few gaited horses who seem to like to "tease" u with how well they gait while in the pasture!!
But Seriously, even naturally gaited animals have off days and your patients and continued/consistant good training techniques help. Keep up the training!!
I get really funny looks when I'm on a ride with non-gaited horses cuz they think my guy is lame!!! I laugh and say ya but my butt isn't sore!!
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Sonya
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Skywalker
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Thu Oct 23rd, 2008 02:26 pm |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s_rZt3BWEQ
Skywalker has a natural tendency to gait, but I would like to see him a little more trotty though.
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McKTX
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Thu Oct 23rd, 2008 10:37 pm |
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scribbles wrote: I mean they will consistently gait on a loose rein without having to work at it. I am just wondering if gaitedness (if that's a word) is strongly inherited in gaited horses or if training is needed to get them there. It seems that I read a lot on this forum about problems getting horses to gait.
Maybe the people who don't have problems don't post and those that do have problems are the ones making all the posts?
Gwen will easily go into a gait, a slow gait that would keep up with an average QH jog+, on the loose rein anytime I ask her. It is about 4.5 to 5 miles per hour. She can go faster, but if she is really pushed on the loose rein, she will start a trot. We were keeping up with an endurance horse at 12 mph, but we were trotting (I was posting) She goes from slow gait to a moderate rack and then it is TROT! But she can fly at the trot!
I have to work at really "riding" her if we try to gait with any real speed, but I feel that is only because she really does not have real speed at her gait, at least in this point in time and condition.
Carol
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mftowner2006
G.O.G Community Member
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Posted: Tue Nov 18th, 2008 10:46 pm |
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Chief is naturally gaited...he does his little foxtrot very well!!! 
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