Gaited horses?

[SoaringHawksFarm]

I love my ssh and twh. The ssh has a high showy rack that is very nice. Are twh has what we have always called the rocking chair gait ( running walk) I have found on the twh you want a horse that has a gait were the back hoof goes in front of the front when in a running walk. They tend to have the smoother gaits. Some to the point you. An carry a glass of water and never spill a drop.
The other thing is 15 mi s on a twh is like a hour in the gym.
That is why my whole family has a twh. Plus it helped being raised on a horse farm where they bred twh's and apps.
They are dear to my heart so I am not the best to put in for other breeds.
Gaited or not there are some outstanding breeds out there.

 

[dianneS]

I'm reading about Dan Patch the harness race horse right now. I'm fascinated by Pacers!

 

[FlaRocky]

Hi, new here. I have Rocky's and on gait and buying one I always tell people to (buy the one that fits your butt)(smooth ride).Ride lots of horses and visit lots of farms. Remember you can't ride color. Remember if you are W-T-C gait will feel smoother than anything you have now. I use mine for trail, show, breeding, horse camping, moving cows, driving, and whatever else needs doing. I start all of my babies and don't put any shoes on them.

What are you looking to use your horse for? Sorry to jump in with both feet. I am a member of the Rocky Mountain Horse Association, and a member of the genetics committee. Also a member of FOSH (Friends of Sound Horses), board member of the FlaRMHA. Hope this helps, pm me if you have any questions and I can call and talk to you.

 

[horseowner]

The gaited breed is a very diverse breed and I won't go into details now. But I would like to clear up a few things that have been stated if I may.

1) Gaited horses need special trims and shoes to gait. No, they don't. They only need proper training. My gaited horses are trimmed the same way my Quarter horses are, barefoot and a natural trim. Unfortunately for the gaited horse, many trainers did use long toes, heavy shoes and other artificial devices in order to enhance the gait to get one that steps higher, ect. But many natural horses people are now trying to get the horse back to their natural state as they were bred and have made some strides in doing so to the benefit of the horse. Since all these other things can lead to soundness issues in the long run.

2) Are the gaits natural, yes they are! Some are just born and bred with a more natural tendency then others. Some if allowed will pace, but if they pace they can gait and you just have to know how to get them to gait.

3) They cannot do other things such as barrels racing, jumping, team penning, ect. Yes they can. All you have to do is google and you will find some gaited horses that have excelled in these disciplines as well.

4) They cannot canter/lope well. Yes they can. They are a horse first and foremost. They walk, gait and canter, all of them. Some have just been trained not to.

5) They cannot be competitive in endurance. Yes they can and many do quite well. But I am sure you are right about certain areas and judges that do not know how to judge them. Had to laugh at the one that said he would not be able to tell if it is lame. Whether gaiting or trotting the lame horse will be the same, it will limp! And you will be able to tell when it is lame. The judges would be the only reason a gaited horse would not do as well. Although I agree that some gaited breeds might excel at it better then others. Again some have been breed to use less energy and go longer.

5) If a horse is hardwired to pace, it won't gait. Not true, if a horse can pace it can gait. But it will take some work and training to get it to do so.


But most people buy and ride a gaited horse, for just that. Their gait. So most gaited horses are just trained to walk and gait. Most do not canter their horses out of the myth that if you canter them they will not gait as well. No this is not true, but it is very important to make sure your horses gait is established well first before you teach the canter. Since the canter is easier to do, then they will likely try to break into a canter from their gait, if it is not established well first. The exception is on the horses that tend to pace. You need to break up that lateral gait, so it is best to teach them to canter, it will be easier for them to gait if you do.

But to answer the first posts question. These horses easily gait and can go all day in their gait. They can cover more miles and do it much easier then the trotting horse. And it is much easier on the rider. That is why you will find that people that are older, have joints that hurt, ect are switching over to the gaited horses. They don't hurt after riding them.

There are many different breeds of gaited horses for many different reasons that have been bred for a particular discipline. Anyone interested in getting a gaited horse, just needs to do some research on the different breeds to see what will work best for them.

Also their is a difference between the Peruvian Paso and the Paso Fino. The Peruvian is much like our quarter horses, except they gait. They are very smooth and are used to roundup cattle.