Getting a Green Horse to Gait

[zoel_222]

I've been working with Savannah the Tennessee Walker I have in training, but I don't really know much about gaited horses at all. I've seen her gait in the pasture, but like 80% of the time she trots. The owner said she doesn't want her to trot ever under saddle, or pace.

Savannah's only had 2 rides so it will be a little while before we start working on this, but I want to fill my head with as much gaited knowledge as I can. So, how do I get her to gait and not trot??

[Buckpoco]

I just got into gaited horses when I bought Dice, three years ago. He gaits and trots. I found that if I sit up, keep some leg on and slightly lift my hands he'll gait. When I get more in a forward seat with longer reins, he'll trot. I read Lee Zigler's book and went on lots of sites...this is working well for me...other people here have gaited horses and may have different experiences.

I know when he is about to break out of the gait and at that point I sit down a bit more and keep him from breaking. You'll get the feel of it as you work with her.

[gaited07]

Key to Gaited horses is lots of walking with gradual increase in speed. Slow steps.
I'm more for a rounded, collection with engagement from the hindquarters so yes that means working the hindend into the bridle. I'm not for the hollowed out Gaited horses and find those to break out of gait (mostly Pacey).
you don't need any special tack, just lots of patience and walking!

[TheRedHayflinger]

yes..lots and lots of walking.

you should go find the book Easy Gaited Horses, by the late Lee Zeigler. Awesome book

[offgridgirl]

Second the "Easy Gaited horses" book!! I will also agree lots of walking and forward movement...then "allow" the horse to gait, when she is relaxed,just like in the pasture. Also does she have front shoes?? Most horses need shoes for comfort and grip.

[zoel_222]

Thanks for the replies guys. The owner has been pushing me since day one to rush rush rush and make holes so she'll be "done" sooner. I told her it doesn't work that way. I think she's expecting her to be gaiting by the end of the month. Right now she hasn't even been ridden out of the barn.

offgrid, she's barefoot and will probably stay that way.

I'm really interested in that book, but I don't have the cash for it right now.

[mare]

Key to Gaited horses is lots of walking with gradual increase in speed. Slow steps.
I'm more for a rounded, collection with engagement from the hindquarters so yes that means working the hindend into the bridle. I'm not for the hollowed out Gaited horses and find those to break out of gait (mostly Pacey).
you don't need any special tack, just lots of patience and walking!

That is my experience with MFTs and TWHs, also.

I think you're right that rushing will make for holes in her ability. You are developing specific muscle groups to facilitate the gait the owner wants. Owner can wish all s/he wants but the muscles and coordination only develop when they develop.

Kind of like wishing gestation only took half the time.

[walkinthewalk]

Ditto ditto ditto lots of walking and NOT to rush the horse. I hope the owner isn't a close friend because my not-so-politically-correct response to them wanting to rush the horse is they're a complete fool and idiot.

No horse should be rushed, especially a gaited horse that's green.

One other thing to consider and I'm sure the owner won't give a flip is if the horse cannot hold it's gait under saddle to have a chiropractor look at it.

When I started working my 3 yo, he suddenly couldn't hold his gait under saddle for more than 30'.

Turned out his Atlas bone (head/neck area) and sacrum (butt) were out. I was instructed to give him a week off before riding. I did that and when I got back on him, he was a gaitin' fool with a beautiful head nod.

Once a gaited horse matures, they will show their skeletal system is out of whack by trotting too much. They can put themselves out of place just by playing in the field.

I am not trying to take anything away from this forum, but if you can't afford Lee Ziegler's book, which I ditto that also, you might find some good information on Brenda Imus' "Gaits of Gold" forum. http://www.gaitsofgold.com/wowbb/

They have a training section.

I am pretty sure this guy "cclarsencc" uses this screen name on the Gaits of Gold forum. He and is wife are terrific and gentle trainers of Tennessee Walkers. He could offer you some good insight but he will also be adamant about NOT rushing the horse.

He is also on the http://gaitedhorsesense.com/category-view.asp forum. While there is some good information on that forum, there are some folks giving training advice that really shouldn't be:innocent:

Breaking a green gaited horse is a pretty simple task for someone that has been riding them, but can be a daunting task for someone without experience on them.

The way I was taught 20+ years ago, was to sit deep on my pockets, keep my hands low and the reins loose, and work my hips as if I were working a hula-hoop. Keep your legs straighter than you would on a trotting horse. A slight bend in the knee to where your foot is comfortable about not sliding out of the stirrup:cowboy:

It seems the "new method" is to keep the reins high to get the horse into its intermediate gait. Unless one is speed-racking, I am dead set against that, but I am a lowly trailrider so what do I know:cowboy:

I hope this helps and good luck as I know you are trying your best to do right by the horse, even if the owner isn't. The owner needs a Come-to-Jesus meeting where this horse is concerned:(

Just for the bragging record, that is my beloved TWH in my avatar at 16 and again in my sig at age 21. I bought him as a coming 3 yr old; he was my first TWH and whom I learned to ride gaited on:)))

[Buckpoco]

Key to Gaited horses is lots of walking with gradual increase in speed. Slow steps.
I'm more for a rounded, collection with engagement from the hindquarters so yes that means working the hindend into the bridle. I'm not for the hollowed out Gaited horses and find those to break out of gait (mostly Pacey).
you don't need any special tack, just lots of patience and walking!

I did very little with Dice when he was 3...just light trail riding, mostly walking. I only started to ask more from him last year when he turned 5...I saw Liz Graves at Equine Affaire and spoke to her for a while...that was her advice.

Anyway, Dice prefers to trot in the woods where we have fallen brances, rocks, etc and then loves to gait on flat roads. He never has paced. I like having the choices of gaits...do you see something wrong with that? I do like to post LOL!

I agree with you Gaited...I'd like him in a rounded frame and am working on that. I just recently had somebody tell me a gaited horse should never be rounded...that didn't make sense to me.

[Buckpoco]

Walkinthewalk....do you think it means something is wrong with Dice because he trots also? He does both, has a wonderful canter and now knows both leads. I do like trotting him...his trot is so comfy...and I love his gait...he does the running walk and a little saddle rack.

[gaited07]

Sorry but I have to say that I'm NOT a fan of Brenda Imus or anything she is part of! She is TOO much into selling her items to MAKE a horse gait instead of proper training/conditioning.
There are so many more qualified trainers/clinicians out there that would be more helpful.

As for a gaited horse trotting at liberty being bad, not at all. A gaited horse has that gait and will display it, some more than others but they all have that gait. Does it mean that there is a medical condition, probably not but I'm not a qualified vet or chiro:)

As for a special way of sitting on a gaited horse verse a non gaited horse, well I believe most is myth and you do not need to sit on your pockets nor have your legs forward, hands high or low or or. I believe its in the training of the horse and re-programing of them into a correct frame which is balanced with horse and RIDER.

[Buckpoco]

Sorry but I have to say that I'm NOT a fan of Brenda Imus or anything she is part of! She is TOO much into selling her items to MAKE a horse gait instead of proper training/conditioning.
There are so many more qualified trainers/clinicians out there that would be more helpful.

As for a gaited horse trotting at liberty being bad, not at all. A gaited horse has that gait and will display it, some more than others but they all have that gait. Does it mean that there is a medical condition, probably not but I'm not a qualified vet or chiro:)

As for a special way of sitting on a gaited horse verse a non gaited horse, well I believe most is myth and you do not need to sit on your pockets nor have your legs forward, hands high or low or or. I believe its in the training of the horse and re-programing of them into a correct frame which is balanced with horse and RIDER.

That's good to hear...and the older he gets the more he wants to gait. I think Bogie could use a chiropractor...

I joined the Brenda Imus forum when I got Dice but found that a lot of her info conflicted with Lee Zigler and others that I respected....she didn't even know how to explain the footfalls of a canter...she responded to somebody's question and was totally wrong...someone called her on it.

[zoel_222]

Good advice everyone. I am by no means rushing this horse. The owner just doesn't want to keep her in training very long so she keeps trying to get me to push and rush the horse to get her "finished" faster, which I'm not going to do. I'm just feeling the pressure from the owner to get her broke soon. I told her that I won't rush her and it won't do the horse or the owner any good if I do. We talked more about it (argued is more the word) last night and she finally seems to understand more. I told her I'll train her as long or as little as she wants, but I'm not going to skip any steps because then the owner will have to end up fixing things later on and it won't actually make the horse get trained any faster, but it will make things go slower in the long run.

This is the second horse I've trained for her, and she doesn't quite understand what a process is it training the horse. Last year after 1 20 minute ride on her gelding in the round pen she wanted me to take him for a trail ride. :doh:

She is a friend, and a very nice lady who I've known for several years. Anybody else and I'd be telling her where to get off.

Owner has "experience" "training" gaited horses. She's had horses 30 or so years and has "trained" several of her family's walking horses. I told her I have zero experience with gaited horses. I rode a saddlebred a few times and she'd only gait like 2% of the time so I only felt it for about 30 seconds total and don't even remember it. That's the extent of my gaited knowledge. Owner said she'd teach me. She explained I should push the horse into the next gait, if she trots, pull her back, if she goes back down to a walk, push her forward. I wasn't sure about that so I thought I'd ask here.

[walkinthewalk]

Oh gosh - lol lol lol I am NOT a Brenda Imus fan either. I only mentioned her forum because the gentleman whose screen name I provided, hangs out there and at the GHS forum. It's good to know I'm not alone:cool:

He is a fan of Brenda Imus but I gotta say, there are a few folks on the GHS forum that have bought his TWH's and they have been very please with how he's worked with them.

zoel, Even with the owner's interference, I know somehow you will get this done. Even if the owner of the horse does have "30 years horse experience" and has "trained gaited horses".

You've got your hands full with the owner, that's for sure.

BuckPoco, your horse may be trotting in the woods because he knows he's allowed to do that and has gotten lax, or it's possible he might need a chiro adjustment.

The only way to know for sure would be to have a qualified chiro look at him.

I am an old timer so, for my part, I will not permit my Tennessee Walkers to trot for even four lifts of the hooves. If they start to get "jiggy", I pull them back down to a dog walk for a bit, then ask for their intermediate gait again.

Working a gaited horse up hill is the best way to set their gait. And I do allow my horses to canter if they want to. Generally they will do that the last 20 or 30 feet of a hill. They are so used to just easin' along while I smell the roses, that they're not that interested in cantering - lol lol

That's a matter of personal preference so don't let anyone tell you a gaited horse shouldn't canter. If that were the case, there wouldn't be canter classes at the TWH shows - lol



Not all TWH's will consistently perform the running walk. The guy in my avatar and sig is a hard lateral pacer in the pasture and performs the stepping pace when I ride him. It is every bit as champagne smooth as Rusty's running walk.

Except when he's behind my Arab in the pasture, Rusty only performs the running walk. He has that champagne-smooth walk that people lust after.

Joker will perform the running walk or the rack. If we're just smelling the roses, he will stay in his running walk but if we're about getting up some speed he will rack. He is a bit short-backed and built like a Quarter Horse so his running walk is not quite as smooth as Rusty's, who is long-backed & a lanky athletic-built horse.

Duke and Rusty will really get "up underneath themselves" in their intermediate gaits; Joker not so much:cowboy:

[Buckpoco]

Oh gosh - lol lol lol I am NOT a Brenda Imus fan either. I only mentioned her forum because the gentleman whose screen name I provided, hangs out there and at the GHS forum. It's good to know I'm not alone:cool:

He is a fan of Brenda Imus but I gotta say, there are a few folks on the GHS forum that have bought his TWH's and they have been very please with how he's worked with them.

zoel, Even with the owner's interference, I know somehow you will get this done. Even if the owner of the horse does have "30 years horse experience" and has "trained gaited horses".

You've got your hands full with the owner, that's for sure.

BuckPoco, your horse may be trotting in the woods because he knows he's allowed to do that and has gotten lax, or it's possible he might need a chiro adjustment.

The only way to know for sure would be to have a qualified chiro look at him.

I am an old timer so, for my part, I will not permit my Tennessee Walkers to trot for even four lifts of the hooves. If they start to get "jiggy", I pull them back down to a dog walk for a bit, then ask for their intermediate gait again.

Working a gaited horse up hill is the best way to set their gait. And I do allow my horses to canter if they want to. Generally they will do that the last 20 or 30 feet of a hill. They are so used to just easin' along while I smell the roses, that they're not that interested in cantering - lol lol

That's a matter of personal preference so don't let anyone tell you a gaited horse shouldn't canter. If that were the case, there wouldn't be canter classes at the TWH shows - lol



Not all TWH's will consistently perform the running walk. The guy in my avatar and sig is a hard lateral pacer in the pasture and performs the stepping pace when I ride him. It is every bit as champagne smooth as Rusty's running walk.

Except when he's behind my Arab in the pasture, Rusty only performs the running walk. He has that champagne-smooth walk that people lust after.

Joker will perform the running walk or the rack. If we're just smelling the roses, he will stay in his running walk but if we're about getting up some speed he will rack. He is a bit short-backed and built like a Quarter Horse so his running walk is not quite as smooth as Rusty's, who is long-backed & a lanky athletic-built horse.

Duke and Rusty will really get "up underneath themselves" in their intermediate gaits; Joker not so much:cowboy:

Glad you aren't a Brenda Imus fan..whew! I feel bad for her, she looks like she's having a nervous breakdown.

Dice does have a wonderful canter so I canter him frequently...he didn't have it when I got him but I did want it so I worked him at it...
The more I trot him the better his gaiting seems to be??? He also never gaits in the field or anywhere else on his own...as you said, I guess not all will consistently perform the running walk...maybe he's a mix of trotting and gaiting. I'm learning...always had trotting horses until three years ago...and the different opinions on the gaited horse...oh my!:eek:

While at RTTH we went down and met the guy who sold us Dice. I told him that when I pulled his shoes, he lost the gait for a few weeks. He said that had I given him a week off, that wouldn't have happened....

He now gaits with the Cavallo boots on and barefoot...I think Brenda Imus said they had to be specially shod?

What exactly is the difference between the step pace and saddle rack? Is it timing and animation?

I'd love to ride a racking horse...that must be a blast but you'd definitely have to ride alone I guess unless everyone had one LOL!:innocent:

[zoel_222]

I was lungeing her tonight and she started gaiting on the lunge line! Of course I was asking her to walk, but it was still pretty nifty.

I'm going to check out that forum. I'll probably pick up that book, too when I can afford it. Even if I can't get it while I have Savannah in training, it could help me with the next gaited horse I train. :cowboy:

[walkinthewalk]

Zoel, here's a good Liz Graves link that might offer some help for free:cowboy:

http://lizgraves.com/articlen.html

If you cursor down, there are links explaining the Stepping Pace and the Running Walk.

There are videos too:cowboy:

When a TWH is performing a rack or Stepping Pace, their head will move from side-to-side. It can be a lot or it can be very slight --- just depends on the horse.

When a TWH is performing the running walk, their head will bob up and down. Again, it can be a lot or it can be very slight --- just depends on the horse.

I clicked on one of the videos that Liz is riding the horse. She does NOT have her reins "chest high" like some people think you need to do. I don't have a clue where or when that mindset was born, but it is not the way to ride a gaited horse. The reins should stay at or about the same level as a walk-trot horse.

"Chest High" isn't even safe. I can see why folks get dumped off if their horse spooks:(

To repeat myself - lol lol, I have never done anything but trail ride and had one 15 minute lesson when I bought Duke.

Along with the comment to keep my hands low, the reins on the loose side, and to sit deep on my pockets when I wanted him to gait, I was told to "power brake the bit to get Duke to hold his gait (he was 3 when I bought him).

It's the same principle as power-braking your car - meaning you have one foot on the brake and one foot on the gas as the same time when you're sitting at the traffic light.

I would pull back slightly on the reins, while nudging Duke forward with my legs. Soon as he went into his intermediate gait, I took all the rein and leg pressure off. I lived in PA back then and had plenty of hills to work him up:cowboy:

You will do a great job, if you just get the time you need from the owner. Horses are like people, they all learn at a different rate:cowboy:

[Buckpoco]

I love Liz Graves...saw her at EA and bought her video! She's the one who was adamant about not doing much with Dice until he's five. Light riding and short periods of gaiting.


Walking...sounds like Dice responds like your horse. It's a tiny bit of tension on the reins and ever so slight sitting on my pockets (miniscule movement) that makes him gait or trot. Also leg...I do need more leg at the gait than the trot. But then, Dice is lazy LOL!

[zoel_222]

Thanks. I'm excited to start working on this. I used to be strictly a QH and Paint girl, but I'm really enjoying this walker. I've had suspicions for quite a long time that Auda is half Tennessee Walker, and the more I'm around this lady's walkers the more I'm starting to believe it.

[offgridgirl]

Anyway, Dice prefers to trot in the woods where we have fallen branches, rocks, etc and then loves to gait on flat roads. He never has paced. I like having the choices of gaits...do you see something wrong with that? I do like to post LOL!

Ditto...My guy likes to trot in the woods and gait on the flat. I do ride with non-gaited horses, so I keep my gait even with them and that turns out to be a slow fox trot. The little arab mare I ride with gets competitive so we end up galloping all out in some places. I do find when I'm in my dressage saddle and snaffle bit, I get a nice bouncy trot, which I think is just fine. If I'm in the endurance saddle with a shank bit then I get a fox trot first...so it's all good;)

[Buckpoco]

Ditto...My guy likes to trot in the woods and gait on the flat. I do ride with non-gaited horses, so I keep my gait even with them and that turns out to be a slow fox trot. The little arab mare I ride with gets competitive so we end up galloping all out in some places. I do find when I'm in my dressage saddle and snaffle bit, I get a nice bouncy trot, which I think is just fine. If I'm in the endurance saddle with a shank bit then I get a fox trot first...so it's all good;)


I'm going to switch him to a shank and see if he does anything different. He's happy with the Myler and so am I but it will be fun to see if he goes differently.

I'm happy with the fact that he does diagonal and lateral gaits....I've heard so many opinion by people that if they trot it ruins their gait...I get just the opposite results. Glad to hear you too trot in the woods and gait on the flat! Thanks...:cowboy:

[offgridgirl]

Good!! Go for it!!
I have also found having front shoes makes a difference to getting and keeping a gait.:)

[Gliderider]

HEHE ! Walkin good name for it Power Braking. That is what I do with mine. You did a good job at explaining it. I suck at explaining things. Riding a gaited horse is done a lot on feel and hard for me to explain. My boy Jordan is so competitive we canter often on the trail because of it. Jordan is my only one that doesn't rack its running walk all the way or canter to keep up at times. He is also my least smooth ride but I love him anyway.

Zoel you got lots of good advice already. Lots of walking and Power Braking (love calling it power braking lol).

[walkinthewalk]

HEHE ! Walkin good name for it Power Braking. Lots of walking and Power Braking (love calling it power braking lol).

I am not too good at explaining things either and that's the best I could come up with - lol lol