"By the end of the day we had every one of those horses gaiting," he said proudly. As we discussed this further, I realized that the primary objective of the clinic had been to get horses bitted in such a way, and then driven into those bits in such a way, that the horses all would be gaiting. This man was no doubt exceptionally well intentioned. Nevertheless, I winced inside as I imagined the all-too-common picture of these horses rushing around with their backs hollowed out, their noses either exaggeratedly tucked in, or pointed skyward, and their hocks all strung out behind..

This part of the site will feature conformational analysis of gaited horses. I've prepared these in such a way that each horse has been 'charted out.' You should be able to study them, and learn just how to assess a horse for its natural, or innate gait, based on conformation. This is an extremely valuable tool when assessing a horse for purchase.

If you were going on a long hike, carrying a heavy backpack, what would you prefer to wear on your feet: wooden shoes, or well-made, flexible soled hiking boots with padding for the soles of your feet? Since the answer to this question is so obvious, I can't help but wonder why so many of use took so very long to realize the same principle holds true for our horses. . .