 Each article in this section offers an overview on a particular aspect of gaited horses. Some of these have appeared in print publications, others are unique to this site. Articles are in order from the most recent first. Come back each month for a brand new and exciting gaited horse article by the nation\'s leading gaited horse clinician, trainer, and author Brenda Imus.
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One of the most common questions I hear from gaited horse owners is whether it is all right to canter, or to trot, their gaited horse. In regard to both questions, the answer is, "that depends."
Someone who rides a laterally oriented horse may do well to encourage the horse to canter, as it will teach it how to break up that addictive, lazy habit of pacing or step pacing, and teach it the basics of working off the haunches and rounding up through the back. The stronger and better conditioned the horse, the less likely it is to pace. It's unlikely that an animal with a very strong tendency toward pace would learn to trot before establishing a more square gait, and this would not be as productive as cantering, in any case.
On the other hand, a horse with a strong natural tendency to trot will have difficulty learning to gait if allowed to do so, while encouraging the diagonally oriented animal to canter often leads to a specific gait problem that is difficult to fix, once the habit has been started. |
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Myth #1: There is no such thing as a harsh bit, but only harsh hands.
Myth #2: Any bit can be severe in the wrong hands.
Myth #3: Bits with broken mouthpieces are snaffle bits.
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I’ve had some folks e-mail to tell me that they’ve gone to a trainer or clinician who used light weights and other gait training devices to seemingly good effect. They became convinced that such artificial training aids are effective, and harmless.
I beg to disagree.
There's much to-do made about the fact that the devices used in these instances may be very light weight. What most people don't understand is that, unlike humans, horses have no muscle in their lower limbs to lift weight. This means that a horse uses a finely tuned leverage system based on soft tissue – tendons and ligaments – to lift its legs. Adding weight will therefore easily cause exaggerated motion in the leg, which quickly 'enhances' the gait. It also places incredible stress on those vulnerable soft tissue structures.
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Every saddle gait falls somewhere on the gait spectrum. At one end of the spectrum is the totally lateral pace. When a horse paces, two same side legs (right hind, right front/left hind, left front) move in perfect synchrony. At the other end of the spectrum is the totally diagonal trot, whereby two diagonally opposed (right hind, left front/left hind, right front) sets of legs move in synchrony. Both of these two beat gaits have a moment of suspension when both sets of legs are in the air. It’s the concussion that occurs when the advancing set of legs hit the ground that causes these gaits to be rough and jarring. |
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1.) Don’t expect your young, or new, horse to gait very well right “out of the box.” Young horses need time–often a full season or two–to correctly develop the necessary coordination, muscles and neurological memory to be able to obtain and maintain a consistently good quality 4-beat gait. The same thing is true of a newly purchased horse. Many gaited horses have been rushed through training. This results in stiff, poorly gaited animals that need to be brought back to basic work under saddle. That’s your job. If you take the time to do it right, it will pay rich rewards for many years to come. |
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Gaited Horse Training 
