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TWH/Foxtrotter long yearling no gait

3K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  leannacinquanta 
#1 ·
Hi, we're raising a lovely TWH/Foxtrotter orphan, she's now a long yearling. When she was a baby we noticed her doing what was either a pace or a rack but yesterday I gave her her first roundpen lesson and noticed she showed no inclination to do a gait, but only trot. I'll be starting her in the spring and am looking for pointers on how to cultivate gait - since she's TWH/Foxtrotter, maybe she's genetically confused -
1) What gait should we expect this cross to do - foxtrot or running walk/rack?
2) How can we encourage her to gait - both now before riding, and then when I start her under saddle? I'm experienced at starting regular colts, but not at training them to do a smooth gait.
thanks for any advice you'd like to share!

No recent photos but her's baby and about 6 mos.
 

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#2 ·
It is not uncommon in TWHs to see a horse that trots like a WB at liberty and gaits like Merry Go Boy under saddle! On the other hand there are some that never take a trotty step and some very rare examples that will just trot. So until you put the horse under saddle you won't really know what you have.

At this point the ground work should be just focused on discipline and relaxation while under human direction. Teach them all the basic stuff (start, whoa, gait transitions, turns, etc.) that you'll expect when you back them. This includes all the gait, including the canter. You can even add poles, cavaletti, and low jumps to improve athleticism and add new mental challenges to the youngster. None of these things will adversely affect what soft gait they may ultimately express. That's "wired" into their brain and there's nothing you can do to affect it. What you can do is help them build strength and fitness and add wind so that when they have to pack a human around it won't be so difficult.

Beware of the "gait bunker mentality" that says not only is gait desired, it is the only thing that is desired. That if flat, dead wrong and the root of much evil in the gaited horse world.

Good luck getting your youngster into shape to begin work under saddle!!! :)

G.

P.S. If you have not done so download and read Vladimir Littauer's Common Sense Horsemanship. It has nothing to do with training gaited horses. It has everything to do with training athletic, obedient, sound, reliable horses. ;)
 
#4 ·
I was going to add that MFTs are not as "set" in their gait as other breeds (funny to hear that said about TWHs too, I always thought they were more set). Mine does pretty much everything and combinations thereof, at liberty he mostly trots. My Icelandic also trots at liberty (sometimes). I wouldn't be too worried, and I also agree not to get stuck on the gait.

She is adorable!
 
#5 ·
Very few NA gaited breeds are "set" in gait. The Walker doesn't have a "breed standard" and that would be a first step in setting a "gait standard." That's because of how the TWHBEA (and it's predecessor organization) were formed in the 1930s.

This is in stark contrast to the Latin gaited breeds were gait is quite well set. But even here there can be "gait drift" not every horse is as good as the standard.

G.
 
#6 ·
Thanks all, for your comments.
I'm all for building athleticism, and all the other stuff we teach in roundpen/before backing. However I read that it's bad to let a gaited horse trot, and for the past five years my job is always reminding Mom's gaited trail horses that trotting is an absolute no-no (because when they trot it jarrs her two ruptured disks!). Also whenever Mom lets a beginner ride her TWH I have to give him a reminder lesson about his gait because the beginner let him trot. So I wonder, the more this baby trots, won't it be that much harder to ever get her to gait once in the saddle?
 
#8 ·
As a general rule the trot should not be encouraged. Why have a gaited horse if you're going to encourage the trot? That gait can, however be useful in correction of difficulties. So it's a "tool" in the toolbox.

Making a distinction between ground and saddle work is also a good idea. Lots of Walkers trot at liberty but never under saddle. That's really not a problem so does it really need a "solution?" Keeping the horse in correct form to gait under saddle IS an issue and needs to be constantly monitored.

G.
 
#7 ·
My champagne-smooth running walk fella got in the habit of trotting when he was behind my Arab in the pasture but never under saddle.

FWIW, with the older generation of TWH's at least, if any of mine wanted to trot under saddle, they needed the chiropractor. They were more comfortable trotting until they got adjusted.

I don't know what goes on in today's Walking Horse world, as my two remaining TWH's are 21 & 22. From the stories I hear about so many TWH's trotting under saddle, there are either a lot of people who don't know how to ride them, or they are not as well bred as they used to be:-?

Yet another reason I'm glad I'm old, lollollol
 
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#9 ·
I had purchased a very obese Fox Trotter in April. When trying to get her to gait all she would do is trot. You could feel a very lovely ground covering flat walk (faster than a stock horse walk) and an occasional fox trot.

The more we trotted under saddle the more our spurts of actual gaiting happened. The more in shape she became the more she offered to gait.

She passed unexpectedly in August so I will never know if her gait would fully come back - but I believe that the better shape they are in the easier it is for them to gait
 
#10 · (Edited)
HI Carshon, so sorry to hear the loss of your mare. My mom's lovely golden palomino TWH passed 1 1/2 years ago...but gave us this baby, "Orphan Annie"! Interesting that your mare was overweight. Annie is definitely on the chubby side, that could be a factor.

Well, I have a little update: I put her on the longe line the other day (attached to halter) thinking a little bit of containment in front might help her gait. The couple other times I roundpenned her beyond a walk (without a longe line), she mostly just cantered.

Though she did absolutely great for her first longe lesson, it was kind of sad to see her trying to figure out what to do when I asked for a faster gait than a walk but discouraged her from cantering. She would take a few steps of trot, half a stride of canter, then maybe a couple strides of what may have been a gait, and tripped over herself once or twice in the process... I am nevertheless hopeful in the idea of the longe line, and will give her a couple more sessions to see if she starts to figure out how to move her feet.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I've raised many a trotting horse, but now I have a 4 y/o RMH that I'm breaking. Something I've noticed with him - and heard from other gaited horse people - is that young gaited horses often don't know where their feet are, which makes them look extremely clumsy sometimes. I know my boy can walk and canter fine on a longe, but his mid-gaits are all over the place. I thing those lovely gaits are designed for straighter lines!
 
#12 ·
Your last line is spot on!!! :wink:

The gaited horse is a "road horse," meaning it's designed to go from here to there with the rider in relative comfort. There's little need for "lateral athleticism" of the kind seen in a cow horse or dressage horse. This doesn't mean they can't move laterally (I've seen them "teleport" out from under an inattentive rider) or perform tasks that require lateral movement but that this is not their strong suit.

Some gaited horses (but not all by any means) will not respond positively to gait work on a circle until they "find their feet." This means longe or round pen work should be primarily for training, building discipline, and being responsive to their human. When they get under saddle then the owner can determine what type of gait they will perform.

G.
 
#13 ·
Wow thanks for these comments. Now that you mention it, I've observed the older gaited horses have a bit of a hard time maintaining gait on a curve, so naturally, how much more so for a baby! Since Annie's already super soft at give the face, move the butt to pressure etc, I'll just leave her be till 2 and see how the gaits come through once under saddle and on a straight line.
 
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