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cantering a gaited horse

12K views 41 replies 24 participants last post by  donemoven farm 
#1 ·
Hi all,
My first post. Bought a missouri foxtrotter gelding. 13yr. old. My first
horse in 50 yrs. Everyone said this if a good horse for an old guy like me.
My question is should I canter this horse? Some have told me it will ruin
his gait if I do. Also, he seems to stumble a lot when he is trotting. Is this normal in a gaited horse? I ride in woods and pasture, not trails.
Thank you.
 
#3 ·
It won't ruin his gait, just be sure that your signals are kept clear and consistent. Some gaited horses "can't" canter under saddle because not all of them are taught(allowed?) to canter under saddle. Finding a gaited horse trainer to help you learn all of his buttons and how to ask for his foxtrot I will be a great way to help you two build a better working relationship.
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#5 ·
Yes, you can canter and gallop a gaited horse. I own two Tennessee Walkers and my family owns two Racking Horses and a Racking/Quarterhorse cross and we canter and gallop them pretty often, and the ones that know how to gait still gait.
 
#6 ·
Yeah. He might just be having a hard time with the footing. No big deal, unless he is stumbling often. Than I would take it easy fox trotting in rough places.

From the horses I've ridden, I've found the fox trot to be a sort of strange feeling gait. :lol: It isn't ROUGH, but it isn't smooth like a rack or even a running walk. I was use to riding racking horses; I had to sit the fox trot a little differently.
 
#7 ·
If your not a very good trainer and want to keep your gaits, forget the cantering and galloping. Yes, some do it and get by with it, most don't, then they wonder what happened.

The canter and gallop require a completing different set of muscle than a foxtrot, running walk or rack. Hence, your training them not to gait when you canter or gallop.
 
#12 ·
If your not a very good trainer and want to keep your gaits, forget the cantering and galloping. Yes, some do it and get by with it, most don't, then they wonder what happened.

The canter and gallop require a completing different set of muscle than a foxtrot, running walk or rack. Hence, your training them not to gait when you canter or gallop.
I agree with Guilherme, this is very old school advice.

When training my TWH to canter under saddle, it really helped her loosen up and shake even bigger at the running walk. My mare has a real big, real slow rocking horse canter. Her cantering has not "trained her not to gait" since the mare does nothing but walk, run walk and canter. Even in pasture, she will run walk or rack, never trot.

If you feel confident to canter, go for it.
 
#8 ·
Bob's advice is very traditional. I was told the same thing when I bought my first Walker in 1987.

Unfortunately that advice was wrong then and it's wrong now.

It's a great "half truth" that different muscle groups are used for the canter or the running walk. They are used in different ways, but that is NOT a bad thing. It's just functional "cross training."

There are some horses with a very lateral, four beat gait that have trouble with a three beat gait like a canter. If this is the case then the rider needs to get some advice from a knowledgeable person about the cause of the trouble.

It's been my experience that adding the canter to the well conformed, well moving Walker will do nothing but IMPROVE the running walk and flat walk. I would think the same would apply to the Foxtrotter.

Good luck with your work.

G.
 
#9 ·
I still hear "you shouldn't canter a gaited horse". Which is sad, because some gaited horses have an amazingly smooth canter. I've tried several walkers who cantered like this, and the Icelandic I was going to buy before I got Dovakiin had that canter. Unfortunately, she didn't pass the PPE. Oh well, I'm happy with my new guy, his canter is easy to ride, just not super smooth.
 
#10 ·
I have three Tennessee Walkers (TWH's). I don't canter any of them simply because I don't need to.

They will all canter, they are all allowed to canter, but the intermediate gait on all of them is so fast and smooth they don't need to canter ---- not when I am old enough to be retired and my horrendous back issues are why I went to gaited horses 22 years ago:-p

I agree with the suggestion to find a trainer well versed in the ways of the Missouri Foxtrotter to help you:D Not somebody that glibbly comments "oh yeah, I can help with that". No they can't - lol lol You need somebody that is experienced with Foxtrotters:D

Congratulations on you new Bud - may you enjoy many "Happy Trails" with him:D:D
 
#14 ·
Not necessarily. If a horse is extreme in it's lateral, four beat gait it may be incapable of executing the three beat canter without an intermediate step.

Teaching the trot is one way to "bridge" the gap. It does no harm to "gaitedness." The biggest danger is ineptitude in teaching the trot. Frankly, it's not something for the novice to attempt.

We must NEVER forget that gait lies on a continuum. It's not just a progression of "points." This means that each horse will be a bit different and there are few, if any, "universal rules."

G.
 
#15 ·
Hey, how great you got a horse after all this time. I have a just 6yo TWH and he canters like an octopus with every leg going in a different direction.... needless to say we are a work in progress ! I personally am working on the canter only on trail . He is more relaxed , we will progress to the arena later.

Gaited horses are horses , other than the gait part, they need no special bits, saddles, shoes or whatever. They can walk, gait and canter ( plus a few extra :lol:)
 
#16 ·
I too was told NOT to ever canter or trot my Rocky. What I found was a horse that had never been pushed and would totally overreact when asked for more than his gait. Allowing him to canter (he did it on his own in the field) on lunge line, in the round pen and under saddle helped him learn how to be pushed a little and free himself up some. His gait is actually better now that he canters regularly.

I had a fox trotter who had a wonderful canter and fox trot. He was a delight to ride. I regret ever selling him. He tripped occasionally too but it was always due to laziness and not picking up his feet. If he trips in rough country I wouldn't worry too much. If he trips on a road or flat level ground you may want to have him checked by a vet. Could a sign of all sorts of things from mild to serious.

Cheers.
Les
 
#17 ·
After dealing with a whole lot of these gaited horses, in an effort to find what we wanted, we have found more folks loose the gait than keep it, by trotting and cantering their gaited horses.

Very few are even ridden enough to keep them in shape, let alone, try cantering.

It is not old school, it is reality. Unless your a very good trainer, forget the cantering and concentrate on the signature gait of your gaited horse and you'll have a lot, lot fewer problems. Yes, there are always exceptions, but very few.

I never canter mine, why should I, they can rack upwards of 20 mph. That's faster than most canters, and a whole lot easier ride. The wife canters her's occasionally, and just about as frequently as she does, I have give him a tune up, back to his signature gait.

There is a really odd relationship between quality of gaited horse and cantering and/or trotting them. The better and smoother the ride of good gaited horses the worse they are about loosing that gait from cantering, and the harder they are to get it back. Don't know why, but have seen a lot of them completely ruined from it, if fact, that's a good place to find your self some very inexpensive gaited horses, if you can get them back to their signature gait. Sometimes it takes months to get them back, but once their back, and you stop the nonsense, they make excellent rides.

There is a school, that says you can get a tough one to gait, by cantering them as fast as they will go, then pushing them faster they will start. Most of these do not turn out very well, they seldom ever have a nice slow gait. They are speed demons only. Many of the pacing Standardbreds are started like this, and I have yet to see one of these have a nice slow gait.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Add me to the "ok to canter" camp. But only if you have some general riding experience.
My current Rocky doesn't like to canter, but he will if I ask him too and he does have a nice floaty trot too on rare occasions.
I"ve had or ridden TWH, Saddlebreds, and Pasos before and none had any issues with cantering ruining anything, and the farms they belonged to (or my farm) canted all their gaited horses with no issues.
Now there are plenty of gaited horses with movement issues or lack of development issues and there may be times where it is appropriate to concentrate on certain gaits for a time, but a well rounded gaited horse should be able to move like, well... a horse. :D

Donemoven, when you say your MFT is trotting, are you referring to an actual trot or are you calling the Foxtrot a trot?
 
#24 ·
My foxtrotter.




Thanks for all the great info. I think I will forget about cantering this
horse. I'm not in any big hurry anyway.:lol: When he was stumbling,he was in a reg. trot and the terain had something to do with it. His feet are fine.
A bigger concern right now is a barn sour problem. He will suddenly turn around and head back to the barn. Kinda scarry if your not ready for it. I smacked him on the neck with my hand and it seems to wake him up, so I think more saddle time will help. Too bad the weather turned bad. I have only had him 2 months, and the old owner had not ridden him for about a year. Thanks all.
 
#19 ·
" well rounded gaited horse should be able to move like, well... a horse."

Exactly, that's why we have walk/trot/canter horses and why we have gaited horse.

You gait the gaited and canter the walk/trots.

You can teach an Arab to do the Spanish Fiesta, and Arabs taught to Rack, and TWH taught to Foxtrot, I've seen all of these done. Does that mean all Arabs should be taught the Fiesta, and the rack, and TWH the Foxtrot?

The real issue is keeping the gaited, gaiting. Why mess with it. It is not something the everyday rider should be trying. Their lucky to ride them enough to keep them in shape.
 
#20 ·
Their lucky to ride them enough to keep them in shape.
I agree with you here. Not just for gaited horse owners, but in general most average horse owners do not ride enough to keep their horses in shape and when they do it's a quick yee-ha and then back to the barn.

I am not being critical (hey in the winter I defiantly fall into this category). I think keeping a good gait takes work and time, and with all the other commitments in life time can be an issue. Other breeds are taught early to walk,trot,canter.... gaited horses are not, so if you get an average age gaited horse for recreation , your going to have to put some descent work into developing a canter.

Another thing I agree with is gait over canter. The friend I ride with most has an endurance Arab , she canters.... I gait and I am usually always ahead :) I ride recreationaly and camp frequently .... I surely don't need more going fast ... I would be back to camp first and have to do all the cooking :lol::lol:
 
#21 ·
my walker likes to canter, and she wants to easily break into a canter, i have to hold her back to keep the gait. last fall i was letting her canter more b/c i was reading here it helped get a horse in shape, which would improve her gait.

i have to say, i found this to be not good advice to some degree. yes it helps get them into shape but then they prefer this over gaiting, and now the gait is even rougher. i was told by an old timer you dont let them canter, or gallop b/c this will ruin them from the standpoint, that is all they want to do, and then the gait is rougher.
i found this to be the case. she still is naturally gaited, and will gait but she naturally likes to go, and i have to hold her back more to hold that gait than going immediately right into the canter, when i first got her.
 
#23 ·
The problem is not the horse. The problem is the rider.

You are the rider. YOU set the gait and the cadence of the gait. If you are having trouble with this then find an instructor or coach to teach you how to effectively sit and rate the horse. Once you do this you'll find that the "old timer's advice" was not correct.

G.
 
#22 ·
I own a Missouri Foxtrotter. She does canter - it's a big forward moving canter with lots of knee action, definitely not conducive to cantering around an arena. I bought her with my husband in mind (green rider, bad back, no need to get any place in a hurry). I chose the Foxtrotter breed (and her in particular - great personality) because of the smoothness of the gait. Had we wanted to canter places, then we would have gone with somebody from the traditional three-gaited breeds. Therefore, will we ever bother to canter her? No, probably not because that defeats the purpose of the purchase.

I like what Pattilou has said on the subject (Post No. 20). I think it speaks great truth about most of us "pleasure" riders. So, I guess my question to you, OP, then is: Based on those comments (and tossing in some thought about skill level), do you want to commit a good portion of your riding time schooling or riding out?

If I may, I'd like to make comments about the tripping you've experienced. The occasional trip is likely of no concern - that happens to all of us (human and horse) from time to time for any number of insignificant reasons. However, if you think they are happening too often then: 1) If the hooves are in need of trimming because they are either overgrown or trimmed at an inappropriate angle, you will see tripping; that is corrected by engaging a good farrier. 2) If the areas you are riding are rough (as in stones, tree stumps, hard ground, etc.), your horse may be experiencing some pain; that is corrected by being more circumspect about picking the spots where you want to travel and a discussion with your farrier on protection. 3) Finally, if you've addressed this issue with the farrier and it's still happening, it's probably worthwhile to get a vet involved as there may be something going on internally with the hoof.

I'm glad you've got into riding - it's great fun and very satisfying being around horses and out and about in the great outdoors. Enjoy yourself.
 
#26 ·
I am an inexperienced gaited horse owner. I have had my Missouri Fox Trotter for about 3 years and she is my first gaited horse. She was also used as a broodmare for years and I don't think she was very set in her fox trot to begin with.

She flat walks (her best gait, imo), fox trots, what I assume is a hard trot when she gets going too fast, paces, and canters. I think I have felt a rack or run walk in there too.

Anyway, as we are not showing, she is in her teens, and I am likely to be her last owner, I have decided I have a whole lot more fun with her when I just ride her and enjoy her and not worry about ruining or improving her gaitedness. I have her to have fun out on the trails. And that's what we do. We cantered just today. :)

She actually has kind of a crappy canter. And she paces going into and out of it. She also cross canters. But we have fun and I am just not going to worry about it. I have found that if I want to get a good, true canter out of her she does best going up hills.

I have a friend with three Fox Trotters that canter just lovely. Smooth and collected and they don't seem to cross-canter. And she never canters them on purpose, it's just occasionally they get going too fast and break into a canter when we are gaiting out on the trails. What a waste! If I had a horse that cantered that wonderful I would use it. My mare canters sucky and I still use it. For me, it's part of the fun of riding.

Now maybe if she racked instead of paced or hard trotted, I wouldn't consider the canter so important. :lol:
 
#34 ·
glad to find this thread

Really glad I found this thread because I had the same question, and almost the same situation. I aquired a MFT Stud rescue a few months ago (more info in my posts) today we took our first offical ride. He walks, hard trots, fox trots, and canters with no problem we did a little of it all but I held him mostly in is gait because I have spine issues and shoot it didn't even feel like I was on a horse and we were MOVING. I'd like to cross train simply because I'd love to be able to do barrels on him just for fun with our riding club. I'm not a great rider by ANY means, but we are in tune enough that I can and for and get what I want out of him. As long as I can do that am I in danger of screwing him up? Now he will be gelded soon, and he is about 6-7 years old and hadn't been ridden in 2 years that we know of. I don't want to hijack the thread so you may want to reply in the thread I started..."where are the Missouri Fox trotter people?" :lol:
 
#35 ·
It is a myth that has been passed down for generations that you cant canter a gaited horse.. In fact the more you canter them in a well balanced gait the smoother their gaiting becomes.. If you have a bad pacer canter them a lot bc they need to develop different muscles so the will gait instead of pace
 
#36 ·
Something to keep in mind is that the OP's horse is a Fox *Trotter*. A MFT is a gaited horse but NOT a laterally gaited horse like a TWH, Fino, or Peruvian.

A "Fox Trot" is a diagonal gait in which the front hoof strikes the ground just before the hind. In a normal trot the front and hind hooves strike the ground simultaneously. A canter is also a diagonally based gait. A canter shouldn't cause a problem with this horse's gait.

There is a short video and an explanation of the footfalls of a canter here:

Canter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
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