Just got my first gaited horse.. Missouri Fox Trotter in August 2019. Others were Quarter, Appy, Standardbred, and Arab cross. Love watching your videos which have been extremely helpful! It does take getting used to for sure. But when I hear that pucka pucka I know we got it. Thnx again.
I rode for years but just grade horses and mostly mules. The usual walk trot canter and some nice gallops pretty often. Just trail riding but the last good big horse I owned was a Perchron the small type around 1300 lbs. He had a beautiful pride trot very high but I loved to canter and slow him down till broke to a trot then back to his canter he had a awesome slow canter like floating a great riding stallion.
My horse trips quite a bit. In order to get my horse to canter I have to get him moving very quickly and then slow him down into a canter. He has tripped during this initial burst of speed. Now I'm fearful of practicing a canter with him. What do you recommend? I Don't have access to a large arena.
Renee Kailanen First, can you get him to trot? Trot over ground poles? This would be my goal to start with. Then I would see if he can trot over cavalettis. Then you can ask him to canter over a small jump.
TWH were known for their slow rocky horse canter since the breed was developed and were always cantered in show ring. The rules still call for a canter in all but specialty classes and 2 and 3 yr olds, some 4yr old and of course driving horses. The worse thing you can do with your gaited horse is to trot them if you want a consistent true running walk . If you have any hope of showing in pleasure classes like plantation, flat shod, etc. - they should not be allowed to rack and certainly not trot. It has become very difficult to find a good walking horse that does a correct running walk and almost impossible to find one who canters without getting an ex show horse. Thank goodness for the plantation and flat shod classes. Maybe before long the TWH breed organization will outlaw stacks, lubricants and chains in the show ring and we will have access to more horses who aren’t almost crippled by soring, etc. American Saddlebreds 5 gaited do walk, trot, slow gait, rack and canter but TWH should only do a flat walk, running walk, and a canter. Please note when I mention ASBs, I am not referring to spotted saddlebreds which are walking horses crossed on pintos, paints, etc. Even American Saddlebreds are not worked at a trot while gaiting and it takes a while to get them strong again at the trot once settled - some bloodlines are easier to gait than others, some have such strong trots they never make good 5 gaited horses. What has happened with the TWH is a lot of folks who do not know how to train or work a gaited horse period have allowed them to just slip first one way and then the other. Then others not knowing the difference, follow suit. Also, they don’t know the difference in the gaits and to be truthful, they don’t care as long as they are not having to post. A big clue - If you have a TWH, and it is not bobbing his head when stepping up from the flat walk, then he is not doing a running walk. It is almost impossible for them to not head bob and do a running walk along with floppy ears and shakey tail plus taking a long overstride behind which is what gives you the walking horse glide they are famous for since first developed. If their head is fairly still, they are doing a rack, stepping pace, etc. but not a running walk. This young lady makes mention of telling you to canter from a walk not some other gait. Truely, they should canter from a standstill like any other horse. Like all breeds, when starting them, they may have to be run off their feet a couple of times to get the idea - though with enough impulsion and leg, you should be able to lift any horse into a canter without running them off their feet. Personally, I think it is better to work the horse in at least a 50’ -70’ round pen in long lines. Do your lounge work for a couple of weeks as they learn to balance themselves and canter on cue. Then move to long lines (like you are driving them) so you can collect them as you cue with your voice and use a long whip (if needed) to canter. Work them in circles and on the straight in the riding ring. By the time 30 days have passed, they will be able to canter in frame, slow and collected. When you get back in the saddle and ask for the canter, it should be much easier for them and they should lift right into a canter from voice cue and a slight lift to the rail and strong leg. Keep your hands light - don’t bump and confuse them. Once going, you can rock them back to a slower canter. Sit straight, lean slightly back and push you hips down while relaxing and keep your legs under you. Try from the corner first, it will help them with the right lead. Good show horses will canter on the barest lift of the rail rein and tap. However, do not get them over bent - if you don’t know what you are doing and have never done this, get help. With horses in general whether gaited or not - it is important to get a trainer to get your horse trained and then to teach you how to maintain his gaits no matter what breed or gaits. Horses that are allowed to do whatever, will do whatever will never make pretty moving comfortable horses. Also keep in mind that, if sore or lame, pacing is easier than trotting or doing a correct running walk. Lame horses will get pacey when sore in their feet, legs, shoulders, hips. Also, something I see a lot of with these horses who aren’t trained correctly, is a horrible loss of top line and core to the point many develop what people use to call hunter’s bump. It is really SI joint injury that has become chronic. It happens with all breeds due to injury, overuse, bad hands, poor seat, incorrect and uncollected riding along with improper feeding, and not feeding high quality protein sorces and essential amino acids. With a gaited horse - he hollows his back more and more and his neck becomes upside down if really bad. The horse travels with his rear legs flailing out behind him at speed - we have all seen the so called speed racking horses flying down the highway like this. To me, these folks aren’t true horsemen. The horse will lose muscle across the entire topline and down into the shoulders and hips. A horse can (if not injured) be bought back if properly worked in frame, collected and fed right but it can take a year or two. The transformation is tremendous but many are lost to chronic painful lameness. Nutrition is very important for topline improvement, the older horse especially will benefit from higher protein levels and proper dental care. You can’t develop strong toplines on skinny under weight horses and we see way too many of these today.
Do you have a blog, would love to see pics of your horses and read more articles like this. I would love to see more show TWHs with better frame, posture and topline.
I have a standardbred and we have the transition down but the canter is unbalanced, too fast (think gallop), and the transition back to trot is also too fast. I need to get him cantering on a circle as I do dressage and I’m stuck, do you (or anyone else) have any advice for this?
Great info Ivy I always appreciate your easy to understand instructions. You need some bug spray though! I hate bugs! Thanks for the great information.
Have your farrier watch him moving in the gait that he stumbles the most and then take your farriers advice regarding any trimming or shoeing that might help with the problem also having a general vet check taking particular notice of eye sight tell your vet about the stumbling so he can eliminate some common causes it may be a proccess of elimination rather than a easy answer but keep looking for a answer
Nice info Ivy. I've heard so much about this subject such as not to canter a gaited horse to when to start the canter , that I am confused! My horse is a4 yr old MFTrotter and she has not even started to fox trot on Cue, let alone canter on cue. I also need to know the best bit as she has a bad habit of tongue over the snaffle. I've never owned a gaited horse before so do wish you could be my trainer😕so the next best thing is what training video for me do you recommend out of those you offer? Thankyou!
Thanks, Ivy! Cantering my horse is my goal for this year. I have tried the ground pole canter work which seems successful but my horse now sees the poles and gets very excited!!! So I've regressed to trotting him over a few at a time to calm him down. He does go with his head down and also will trot but is still pacey. Could this be because he is a registered Racking Horse? Sometimes he will pick up a real canter going uphill, but there are many times when his canter is very disjointed and very fast, more like a gallop.
You mentioned trotting. My TWH trots when I ask him to while lounging, but I have never asked for a trot while riding him. If you do that, first of all how do you ask, and how does he know whether to trot or gait?
Hllnbak R Ivy, I would also like to see a video on how the horse learns the difference between trot and gait. Btw, trotting is so good for them for strength and lateral work, and developing both sides of the horse evenly. It sure is nice having a gaited horse with a strong trot.
So helpful to go back and watch this again
Just got my first gaited horse.. Missouri Fox Trotter in August 2019. Others were Quarter, Appy, Standardbred, and Arab cross. Love watching your videos which have been extremely helpful! It does take getting used to for sure. But when I hear that pucka pucka I know we got it. Thnx again.
I rode for years but just grade horses and mostly mules. The usual walk trot canter and some nice gallops pretty often. Just trail riding but the last good big horse I owned was a Perchron the small type around 1300 lbs. He had a beautiful pride trot very high but I loved to canter and slow him down till broke to a trot then back to his canter he had a awesome slow canter like floating a great riding stallion.
My horse trips quite a bit. In order to get my horse to canter I have to get him moving very quickly and then slow him down into a canter. He has tripped during this initial burst of speed. Now I'm fearful of practicing a canter with him. What do you recommend? I Don't have access to a large arena.
Renee Kailanen First, can you get him to trot? Trot over ground poles? This would be my goal to start with. Then I would see if he can trot over cavalettis. Then you can ask him to canter over a small jump.
TWH were known for their slow rocky horse canter since the breed was developed and were always cantered in show ring. The rules still call for a canter in all but specialty classes and 2 and 3 yr olds, some 4yr old and of course driving horses. The worse thing you can do with your gaited horse is to trot them if you want a consistent true running walk . If you have any hope of showing in pleasure classes like plantation, flat shod, etc. - they should not be allowed to rack and certainly not trot. It has become very difficult to find a good walking horse that does a correct running walk and almost impossible to find one who canters without getting an ex show horse. Thank goodness for the plantation and flat shod classes. Maybe before long the TWH breed organization will outlaw stacks, lubricants and chains in the show ring and we will have access to more horses who aren’t almost crippled by soring, etc. American Saddlebreds 5 gaited do walk, trot, slow gait, rack and canter but TWH should only do a flat walk, running walk, and a canter. Please note when I mention ASBs, I am not referring to spotted saddlebreds which are walking horses crossed on pintos, paints, etc. Even American Saddlebreds are not worked at a trot while gaiting and it takes a while to get them strong again at the trot once settled - some bloodlines are easier to gait than others, some have such strong trots they never make good 5 gaited horses. What has happened with the TWH is a lot of folks who do not know how to train or work a gaited horse period have allowed them to just slip first one way and then the other. Then others not knowing the difference, follow suit. Also, they don’t know the difference in the gaits and to be truthful, they don’t care as long as they are not having to post. A big clue - If you have a TWH, and it is not bobbing his head when stepping up from the flat walk, then he is not doing a running walk. It is almost impossible for them to not head bob and do a running walk along with floppy ears and shakey tail plus taking a long overstride behind which is what gives you the walking horse glide they are famous for since first developed. If their head is fairly still, they are doing a rack, stepping pace, etc. but not a running walk. This young lady makes mention of telling you to canter from a walk not some other gait. Truely, they should canter from a standstill like any other horse. Like all breeds, when starting them, they may have to be run off their feet a couple of times to get the idea - though with enough impulsion and leg, you should be able to lift any horse into a canter without running them off their feet. Personally, I think it is better to work the horse in at least a 50’ -70’ round pen in long lines. Do your lounge work for a couple of weeks as they learn to balance themselves and canter on cue. Then move to long lines (like you are driving them) so you can collect them as you cue with your voice and use a long whip (if needed) to canter. Work them in circles and on the straight in the riding ring. By the time 30 days have passed, they will be able to canter in frame, slow and collected. When you get back in the saddle and ask for the canter, it should be much easier for them and they should lift right into a canter from voice cue and a slight lift to the rail and strong leg. Keep your hands light - don’t bump and confuse them. Once going, you can rock them back to a slower canter. Sit straight, lean slightly back and push you hips down while relaxing and keep your legs under you. Try from the corner first, it will help them with the right lead. Good show horses will canter on the barest lift of the rail rein and tap. However, do not get them over bent - if you don’t know what you are doing and have never done this, get help. With horses in general whether gaited or not - it is important to get a trainer to get your horse trained and then to teach you how to maintain his gaits no matter what breed or gaits. Horses that are allowed to do whatever, will do whatever will never make pretty moving comfortable horses. Also keep in mind that, if sore or lame, pacing is easier than trotting or doing a correct running walk. Lame horses will get pacey when sore in their feet, legs, shoulders, hips. Also, something I see a lot of with these horses who aren’t trained correctly, is a horrible loss of top line and core to the point many develop what people use to call hunter’s bump. It is really SI joint injury that has become chronic. It happens with all breeds due to injury, overuse, bad hands, poor seat, incorrect and uncollected riding along with improper feeding, and not feeding high quality protein sorces and essential amino acids. With a gaited horse - he hollows his back more and more and his neck becomes upside down if really bad. The horse travels with his rear legs flailing out behind him at speed - we have all seen the so called speed racking horses flying down the highway like this. To me, these folks aren’t true horsemen. The horse will lose muscle across the entire topline and down into the shoulders and hips. A horse can (if not injured) be bought back if properly worked in frame, collected and fed right but it can take a year or two. The transformation is tremendous but many are lost to chronic painful lameness. Nutrition is very important for topline improvement, the older horse especially will benefit from higher protein levels and proper dental care. You can’t develop strong toplines on skinny under weight horses and we see way too many of these today.
Do you have a blog, would love to see pics of your horses and read more articles like this. I would love to see more show TWHs with better frame, posture and topline.
I have a standardbred and we have the transition down but the canter is unbalanced, too fast (think gallop), and the transition back to trot is also too fast. I need to get him cantering on a circle as I do dressage and I’m stuck, do you (or anyone else) have any advice for this?
My Tennessee walker has a Beautiful canter is smooth and is a dream he feels like his fluinh
Great info Ivy I always appreciate your easy to understand instructions. You need some bug spray though! I hate bugs! Thanks for the great information.
Have your farrier watch him moving in the gait that he stumbles the most and then take your farriers advice regarding any trimming or shoeing that might help with the problem also having a general vet check taking particular notice of eye sight tell your vet about the stumbling so he can eliminate some common causes it may be a proccess of elimination rather than a easy answer but keep looking for a answer
Nice info Ivy. I've heard so much about this subject such as not to canter a gaited horse to when to start the canter , that I am confused! My horse is a4 yr old MFTrotter and she has not even started to fox trot on Cue, let alone canter on cue. I also need to know the best bit as she has a bad habit of tongue over the snaffle. I've never owned a gaited horse before so do wish you could be my trainer😕so the next best thing is what training video for me do you recommend out of those you offer? Thankyou!
Thanks, Ivy! Cantering my horse is my goal for this year. I have tried the ground pole canter work which seems successful but my horse now sees the poles and gets very excited!!! So I've regressed to trotting him over a few at a time to calm him down. He does go with his head down and also will trot but is still pacey. Could this be because he is a registered Racking Horse? Sometimes he will pick up a real canter going uphill, but there are many times when his canter is very disjointed and very fast, more like a gallop.
You mentioned trotting. My TWH trots when I ask him to while lounging, but I have never asked for a trot while riding him. If you do that, first of all how do you ask, and how does he know whether to trot or gait?
Hllnbak R Ivy, I would also like to see a video on how the horse learns the difference between trot and gait. Btw, trotting is so good for them for strength and lateral work, and developing both sides of the horse evenly. It sure is nice having a gaited horse with a strong trot.
❤
Thanks.
My TWH just goes faster in the gait she won't canter.
ruclips.net/video/87ae05DEz_Q/видео.html
@@IvyS Thank you! I will try this in my ride today!