01/04/2025
Lessons From A Gaited Horse Trainer
By Gaye DeRusso
https://www.majesticrider.com/index.html
They are not like regular horses, they are wired different, those who tell you they are, truly do not understand all the different ones.
Lots of people who say they showed them when younger, will get on your horse and ride it into a pace or trot and then tell you it cannot gait.
They all gait at different speeds, and most people ride them too fast past their smooth 4 beat gait. Slow down, get the footfall first.
A step pace is not a running walk, or a fox trot, although many people think it is.
They will shake their head if doing a flat walk, running walk or fox trot, if they tell you, all do not shake their head with those gaits, then they truly do not understand those gaits. Some will shake more, some will shake less, but they all will shake their heads if doing those gaits.
You have to ride many different gaited breeds and ones that are trotty and pacey to be able to train them naturally and know how to correct it. One breed or one specific gait does not make a well-rounded gaited trainer.
Some just gait and some you have to help them to gait. They are not all the same. Any trainer can ride a well gaited, well-bred horse, but it's the ones that are not well bred or well gaited that will make a great gaited trainer.
They usually gait best with some semi collection and engagement from their back end.
You should ride the horse if you plan on buying it, not all gait the same.
Some can do 5 different gaits, in 5 consecutive steps, training is the key to getting the gait you want and keeping them in it.
Pacey horses look lame just ask your non gaited friends.
Many trip if not ridden with engagement.
The heavier they are on their front end and the less they are paying attention, the more they will trip.
The higher they pick up their front legs, the less they will trip.
An unbalanced rider with poor riding skills can make them trip and not gait well.
Pacey horses trip more then trotty horses.
Just because it trots or paces when it runs loose does not mean it cannot gait.
When they won't gait, some of its them and some of its you, but the higher percentage is you.
Deep footing makes them trotty, hard footing makes them pacey.
The pacey ones, have a harder time learning to canter.
The better you ride the better they gait. This means you know how to balance your body and the horse’s body and have good timing and feel.
Gaited horses can be safer due to their calm nature, but you do need to learn how to ride them. Therefore, for people who do not know how to ride, they can be very difficult to keep in gait.
Gaited riders need to develop feel. The feel of the gait you want and the feel that the gait is changing, so you can help the horse stay in gait. This takes time and patience.
The more you understand about gaited horses, the easier it becomes, the less you understand the harder it becomes.
Those use to riding on a very loose rein and are passengers will have the hardest time controlling the gaited horse and keeping it in gait, best to buy a quarter horse that’s ridden like that instead, they are great horses and won't change gait all the time.
It’s not about a certain bit or saddle or long feet, or heavy shoes or angles, it’s about having a well-trained horse that's comfortable in its equipment and then showing it what you want.
Gaited horse riding is one of the few disciplines where the horse and the rider have the least training.
If you take short cuts, you will never have the horse you want. Training takes time, getting a great gait takes time. Patience and persistence is the key.
Speed is not the answer, but basic dressage is. Dressage is just the French word for training. Your horse needs a basic training foundation to behave well and to gait well.
Its best to go back and repeat training then go forward with holes in your horses training. The only one it will hurt is you.
Never blame the horse for not gaiting or staying in gait. If you bought it, then you need to learn how to ride it.
