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Is it bad for a gaited horse to canter?

9K views 23 replies 13 participants last post by  Fatty Lumpkin 
#1 ·
I've been asked to ride a gaited horse for sale who hasn't been ridden in a year. He walks paces and canters. I told the BO who bought him to resell him and he said he's not supposed to canter. Huh?
He's not a show horse he's a TWH who is built like a tank, I'll get a pic in a min. He rode in a Mullen mouth pelham, didn't even need the curb rein so I knotted it on his neck.
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#2 ·
I've been asked to ride a gaited horse for sale who hasn't been ridden in a year. He walks paces and canters. I told the BO who bought him to resell him and he said he's not supposed to canter. Huh?
He's not a show horse he's a TWH who is built like a tank, I'll get a pic in a min. He rode in a Mullen mouth pelham, didn't even need the curb rein so I knotted it on his neck.
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both my twh canter and one of them knows the 4 beat ride of heaven the other doesn't... it doesn't change a thing about the horse or atleast thats what i have been told
 
#3 ·
Ask her/him where the phrase "rocking chair canter" came from. It was none other than Tennessee Walkers - lollollol

Please tell your BO there are canter classes for TWH's.

The Performance Walkers are not allowed to enter a canter class until they are five years old, so maybe that's where your BO got that half-twisted truth.

Here is a great link that you might want to bookmark since your BO seems to be getting in a lot of TWH's for your to ride:D

Tennessee Walking Horse

Where it says in part:

"The Tennessee Walking Horse is also famous for their "rocking chair" canter, which is a collected gallop. The canter is performed in much the same way as other breeds, but the walking horse seems to have a more relaxed way of performing this gait."
 
#5 ·
There's this common misconception that cantering a TWH will make it reluctant to gait.

It was quite annoying for my uncle yell at me to stop cantering on one of the Walkers because it would make her "not wanna gait."
:roll:
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#6 ·
Its funny, in the arena he would rather gait. But on grass in the yard TRTING to get him to gait. He wanted to canter -_- I'm sure its because he had a crowd he had to be a snot. :) the guy knows nothing about horses. He gave me a "gaited bit" it was a double twisted wire with impossibly long shanks....no thanks. So I used my pelham. I'd rather him run away with me in a nice bit than be tortured in a mean one. So, can he ride in say a d ring snaffle or full cheek snaffle? He ride with a looser rein. Didn't hold his head up high no matter if my hands were low or at my waist. I think he's only ever been a pleasure horse.
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#9 ·
It's bad for them NOT to be able to canter every now and then, work a whole different set of muscles. I full heatedly believe that horses should be allowed to exercise all of their natural gaits. My racker canters, gallops, trots AND gaits just fine, if anything a good canter gets the oats out of her and makes us both happy :lol:
 
#10 · (Edited)
If cantering is bad for a gaited horse, my mare is screwed. :wink: We canter all the time. We even do jumping courses and flat work that works the canter.

(Walkers I've ridden have lovely canters too. Rackers/Pacers like mine seem to need a little extra canter training, but smooth out with practice.)

Cantering builds wind and endurance. It exercises different sets of muscles. Galloping is excellent for working out soreness. Plus, most gaited horses love to canter. Many people only work two of their gaits -- walk and easy gait. Monotony breaking is good.


My mare has four gaits we work: walk, trot, canter, and her saddle gait. The more I work her at the trot and canter, the better her saddle gait has become. Working all her gaits has made her stronger and SMOOTHER.

So yeah... I'm a big supporter of cantering and working gaited horses in all their natural gaits.
 
#11 ·
It was over 30 years ago, but I walked, trotted, cantered and galloped my TWH. He still gaited naturally without any encouragement (which was my favorite). Don't know where these storied about trotting or cantering a gaited horse would ruin their gait. Or the stories that you had to train them to gait. Our TWH would break into a lovely gait that I adored when going on long rides. We had him since he was a 2 year old and no one in the family knew how to "train" them to gait.

BTW: That is a lovely horse. Looks robust and well built like the horses that originated the breed were. Will a little conditioning he would probably make a great long distance horse.
 
#12 ·
Woah woah woah woah, so...it's okay to trot?!?!
Ughhhhhh I was working a TWH that was for sale. He came from a show Barn(put the pictures up here of his feet, midnight) the grandma came to ride him and buy him...she CLEARLY couldn't handle more than a beginners lesson pony. I had to go change and get on him to show his gait. I had him racking nicely and she told me to speed it up. Well it got so bumpy that I couldn't sit it if I had been velcroed down! So...being the English ride I am what did I do? I posted. Boy did she jump on me about you never post a gaited horse it encourages them to trot. What I WANTED to say was broad YOU ride him then, oh wait you CANT. What I did say was it became too bumpy to sit, I have a bad lower back, I'm not going to be curled in pain later, if out want him to go faster, I'm going to post. Luckily he was sold before she even saw him ride. They wanted bloodlines. But I've always been told no trot. Well it never made sense to me, if its his NATURAL movement its healthy to use every once and again.
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#13 · (Edited)
^^ Options on trotting is a mixed bag of nuts, actually. Some gaited people think it's the highest sin against nature to encourage a horse to trot. A friend of mine almost had a heart attack when she heard of her TWH trotting. The man who owned my horse before me told me to always sit deep and never two-point, least your horse throw out the evuuul trot.

Some people think it's just great. A buddy of mine owns a racker who she trots as much as she racks. She says she gets bored sitting up there and likes to post a bit. Her horse still racks on cue without issues. The key is making sure you know how to ask for each gait properly.

Many novice gaited people don't realize the benefits of trotting sometimes. They assume it's harmful because it's a gaited horse; it's suppose you, you know, gait and stuff. XD Trotting helps build a lovely topline. Gaited horses who work in hollow gaits all the time sometimes have weak, nasty toplines and could use some trotting. Excessively lateral horses benefit from trotting as well.

...And of course some gaited horses find trotting so much fun they turn it into their default gait and give novice riders who don't know the cues a bumpy ride. What fun.

A little racking mare I use to ride had been worked in a hollow gait for so long she had a horrible pot belly due to improper muscling. Her top line sagged and resulted in sore backs a lot of times. Adding in an "extra gear" would have helped her keep her figure and avoid some chiropractic visits.


Anyway... Back on track. How about the rocking chair canter? :wink:
 
#14 ·
I am going to have to quit looking at your threads when you get a Walking Horse to work:-p

Your BO might not know anything about how they should be ridden, but he sure seems to have an eye for good-looking horses; I like this one too:D

Regarding bits: Use what the horse is comfortable with. I have never used a twisted wire --- my granddad wouldn't even use them when we were teaching the young horses to drive.

Two of my Walkers wear a very low port with swivel shanks; I really like the swivel shanks. My third Walker has always worn a Mechanical Hackamore. The TWH I lost in a freak pasture accident wore a Dr. Cook's Bitless and loved it; not all horses adapt to a Dr. Cook's because every part of the bridle, except the browband, is a pressure piece.

As far as allowing/teaching a Walking Horse to trot - my answer is no, no, and no. It a person wants a horse that gaits and trots, their name is 5-gaited Saddlebred.

It's too easy to ruin a TWH by teaching/allowing them to trot; especially if the horse gets sold to a new horse owner with no knowlege about how to separate the two gaits.

Another poster mentioned they never had to teach their Walking Horses to gait. I have never had to either, yet I read on another forum about a 2 yr old with back legs that were too straight for a Walking Horse and couldn't gait well. At least that was the claim:-|

So my personal take-away message from that alleged truth, is there are "modern" Walking Horses being bred out there for who is on their papers and conformation is going out the barn window.

If that is truly the case, I would stick with older horses or look to the Heritage Groups who are specifically breeding Walkers for their gaits, not because they have a pretty head or a flashy color.

Sorry to get sort of OT but, I was so excited to hear someone besides me say they never had to teach their Walking Horses to gait (my youngest is 12 and directly from old Foundation/pleasure blood) that I got carried away:?
 
#15 ·
Oh just another wives tail, of course you can canter a gaited horse! I was actually told once that if you canter a Walker their legs will break.....really? What a load of milarky,lol. The trouble comes in when you cue for a gait and they move into a canter and you don't correct it, then your cues get all screwy. My boy Loooooves to canter and gallop, and honestly I think its wonderful for him. Helps with balance and coordination, as well as muscle development. I also am a believer that you shouldn't trot a gaited horse, but that is just my opinion.
 
#20 ·
Me too. I want a gaited horse because I want to gait, and I'd rather prevent trotting than try to fix it once it became a habit. I know with the Icelandic horse I rode - sure, he could both trot and gait, but I really had to sit up and keep a strong contact on the reins to keep him gaiting. If I let up at all he would get bouncier and bouncier until he was trotting. No thanks!

Cantering is different because it's a faster gait (for most) and the cues are very different. There's much less chance of the horse getting the canter confused with its easy gait.
 
#16 ·
This thread began as a question on the canter. The short answer is that the canter will not adversely affect the gait in a gaited horse.

BUT, for some gaited horses (think show bred Walkers and Rackers and other very lateral horses) the accomplishment of a three beat gait is very difficult. For these horses the trot can be a waypoint on the road from gait to canter.

Put another way, it's not a destination, it's just a place to stop and do some work.

Then we continue on to the destination.

If, indeed, trotting were bad for most gaited horses we'd have to shoot about half the gaited population (including Walkers and Rackers) as about half will trot in the pasture at liberty. This may be sufficient "trotting muscle" exercise to address back issues. It might not be. It's an individual horse question.

I have said before, and will say again, trotting a gaited horse will cause no harm and may be very beneficial. But the rider has to understand and have a plan for the use of the trot.

G.
 
#17 ·
a gaited horse will cause no harm and may be very beneficial. But the rider has to understand and have a plan for the use of the trot.

G.
Ack, I deleted more than I intended. That was a good way to get the point across.

My two that perform a running walk will mimic my trotting Arab if they're behind him in the pasture. The Step Pacer will not; he is a hard lateral pacer at liberty.

I have had no plan for the use of a trot for the last 21 years and were you a mechanical engineer in a previous life? Having worked for several that built power generating equipment, I almost think I recognize the symptoms:-p
 
#18 ·
The last twh was show bred and shown. The second you got on his back his head was up high and he was strutting around. This guy is much different. He carries a low head and Loos rein. Turner out he trots and cantered around the arena. On his back he prefers to gait. He DOES have a lovely canter though. And I know, he keeps getting beautiful horses. And I want them all.
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#19 ·
When I read the title of this thread I thought, "wtf?" (pardon my french, tee hee)
EVERY gaited horse can canter w/out ruining their gaits. EVERY gaited horse will trot out in the pasture. The gait (you named it/breed) comes as a dominant gene. If you cross them with another non-gaited breed, the result WILL gait. It is natural for them to do so, and they thoroughly enjoy it.
Though I discussed this on another thread, I'd like to mention that I was concerned about training my now 5yo KMHSA--he was a 3yo when I bought him--bc I had only broken/trained in non-gaited horses, and I didn't think I knew the correct cues. ALL of my sources and articles sent to me said that despite the very comfortable gaits, ALL gaited horses need to be trained to collect. My gelding, when asked to cross water a year ago--I was at an event and he was very fresh, so I was wearing him down--picked up a trot on a slack rein. NOW, when I cue for the amble (which is the SAME cue as for a non-gaited horse to trot,) I get an amble, on a slack rein, JUST like Dressage horses that are trained to their head set and will maintain it when the reins are dropped. When I get a trot out of him occasionally UNLESS the footing is sub par (like through the mud on a trail ride), I half-halt and asked again for the amble. DH (now in his 60's) bought this horse for comfort and he wouldn't be very happy if his big (16'3hh) horse started trotting with him!
Here is one article that you might enjoy reading.
MAKING CONTACT, How to use a bit, By Lee Ziegler
 
#21 ·
I can't say about everyone elses Walkers, but Caesar (our TWH) would move into his gait from a trot or walk. If I'd wanted to keep him trotting I'd have to force it. Trotting was not what he would normally elect to do. Granted he was never trained for anything except pleasure riding. Had hoped to have him help with moving the cattle, but he was never on par with my QH for that. Best used from the back just to keep the group moving.
Even so, he was a great pleasure ride. He would gait the close to 5 miles to the intersection if I kept him above a walk. About the only time he elected to trot on his own was when riding with my QH mare and she was at a trot. We would trot and canter them together. None of it every caused him to not gait when I took him out by himself. At it certainly wasn't me, because I wasn't into any show kind of horse riding. I rode for pleasure, for going distance (30+ miles/day) and the work the cattle. The horses gaiting was purely on his own. The only thing I did to get a gait was ask him to speed up from a walk or slow down from a canter. If I did that I had at least a 75% chance that he was going to gait (for which I would lavish praise on him :)) )....and I was going to have a smooth ride. Although, I was ok with posting on those rare times that he might trot instead, or if riding with the mare.
 
#22 ·
I'm NT trying to start any battles here, just what I've noticed. It SEEMS that some gaited horses prefer trot to gait and some prefer the gait to trot. It also seems unlucky that the people who don't want to trot have had or ridden horses that preferred it and vice versa. So for the sake of everyone saying canter is OK trot is OK for some bad for others, I will work the horse in a walk gait and canter. However don't despair trot lovers, when I turn him loose he trots freely around the arena. He chooses to gait anyway. The only time he trotted was when I cued for the canter. I believe I have a video of him somewhere on my phone if I didn't delete it. You could hear me saying"I'm going to ask you to canter" because of the previous I'll trot instead. LOL snot but he picked it up well the second time. We MIGHT go on a trail ride this weekend.. he hasn't been ridden in a year so he's a little squirrly and spooky. I want to get him as well rounded as possible to ensure he goes to a good home. He's so sweet just needs some miles.
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#23 ·
I am from Canada, my mare is a barefoot, ribbon winning TWH show horse, evening and weekend trail horse and she canters great on both leads. Cantering hasn't affected her negatively at all, in fact it has had positive effects... she walks better after cantering as it loosens her up and she can get under herself even better which enables her to 4 beat even better.

Not all horses are the same, but if the horse is naturally gaited, cantering is natural for them so should have no adverse effects IMO
 
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