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Gaits of Gold Gaited Horse Community Messageboard > Brenda Imus Questions and Answers > 'Ask Brenda' > Getting him to gait all the time |
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Gaits of Gold Gaited Horse Community Messageboard > Brenda Imus Questions and Answers > 'Ask Brenda' > Getting him to gait all the time |
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| Getting him to gait all the time | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Mon Mar 1st, 2010 02:43 am |
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1st Post |
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Painted Horse G.O.G Community Member 
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I have a gelding that at times can really gait nicely. We were out in the desert riding yesterday. Riding up a dry stream bed that was more sand than rock. We also had some snow. So he was having to work a little harder for his movement. And he was so smooth. A friend was riding another horse that I own, An NSH gelding that has a big trot. My two horses are extremely competetive about who is in the lead. My gelding will do a great foxtrot because I won't let him go any faster and he doesn't want to fall behind the other gelding. If the person riding the NSH gelding had lets that horse move out a little quicker, my gelding would break into a hard trot to keep up. Rather than one hard trot and the other gait. I sometimes wonder if my horse just gets into step with the other horse, and trots to a candance. If I slow hiim down and he gets excited about loosing to the faster horse. He gaits like crazy. But when I take him out by himself or with slower horse. He is lazy and I have a hard time pushing into the foxtrot. I have a fine line where I can find his gait. If I ride with too fast he wants to break over into the hard trott. If there is no challenge to be the lead horse, he is very comfortable being lazy and walking. It's hard too push him. So that's my challege for this spring, is get better control over his speed control. Some of my friends on yesterdays ride.   Last edited on Mon Mar 1st, 2010 02:45 am by Painted Horse |
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| Posted: Mon Mar 1st, 2010 12:26 pm |
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2nd Post |
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vhersey G.O.G Community Member 
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I don't have a lot of experience here but my farrier has a lot of gaited horses and he always tells me that I should go along with them sometime on a trail ride and that if the other horses are gaiting my horse will pick it up and get in sync with them. Haven't tried it yet, but seems odd, but he swears its true. Nice pictures.
____________________ Like water, be gentle and strong. Gentle enough to follow the natural paths of the earth and strong enough to rise up and reshape the world. |
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| Posted: Mon Mar 1st, 2010 02:55 pm |
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3rd Post |
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Karal G.O.G Community Member 
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I've heard of this too, but I don't believe it is true. That would mean a horse that is trotting would gait just because it is being ridden with horses that are gaiting. I have ridden with trotting horses, my horse doesn't pick up a trot just cuz the others are trotting, and vice/verse. My DH TWH that trots, doesn't gait while I am riding a horse that gaits. One situation holds true, it is very difficult to ride a horse that is gaiting while trying to pony a horse that is trotting. It's like driving a vehicle with a flat tire. Painted! I hate you! Gosh those pics are so awesome!!!
____________________ live - laugh - love |
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| Posted: Mon Mar 1st, 2010 06:43 pm |
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4th Post |
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Mountainhorse G.O.G Community Member 
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On our street we have our own riding club and we all pretty much ride together consistently. Or group is mostly gaited horses, with some QH's. Without a doubt, my husband's SSH and my RMH gait horribly or not at all when ridden with the Quarter horses only. They gait best when riding behind other horses in our group and they don't want to be left behind. If the other horses are way ahead, or cantering, our horses are in a big hurry to catch up and will want to canter as well. We have one lady in our riding group with a small, very well-gaited Paso Fino, and my horse will consistently gait very well when kept behind the Paso. There is a definite diffrence in our horses' gaits, depending on who they ride with.
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| Posted: Mon Mar 1st, 2010 07:12 pm |
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5th Post |
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sdlepal Ranch Hand 
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I seem to have some of the same problem at times. When I ride by my self my SSH needs to be prod-ed to get him going, it wears me out. I have taken some advise from Brenda's training and use split reins and ask him two times and if he doesn't get going, I crack him with the end of reins. He is catching on, but needs refreshed on the beginning of a ride. But when I ride with a small group of 4 or 5, he is antsie and sometimes he gaits and mostly he prances and gets excited weather in the back or front, very aggravating to ride. But I mostly ride with my husband who rides a fast walking Paint horse and my horse doesn't care if he mosies along or is prod-ed into a faster walk. I keep the reins after him now. I am hoping some day he will catch on. Now when I get to ride again I will have to start back at the beginning . Your pictures are great!
____________________ Pam and Cowboy Casey |
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| Posted: Tue Mar 2nd, 2010 12:52 am |
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6th Post |
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TheBlaze G.O.G Community Member 
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A lazy horse is hard to get going; there's no impulsion. It's much easier to find the gait if the horse has some impulsion. I started carrying a dressage whip so I could easily pop them on the butt when I couldn't get them to go. The long reins work well for that too. And, gaited horses that don't have a strongly imbedded gait will want to trot with trotters. When this happens, I recommend encouraging the gait by holding with the reins and squeezing with your legs. Everytime he breaks into a trot, check him back with your reins. If you don't get a gait right away try a half halt to get your gait or bring them back down to a walk and then up into a gait. But, trotting horses don't have the natural ability to do a four beat gait so they will not gait when ridden with gaited horses. It just doesn't work that way. But, it does work the other way around as most of us have discovered. How old is he? And how much riding do you do besides trails?
____________________ ~Tina Wishes are horses, and I fly! |
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| Posted: Tue Mar 2nd, 2010 03:51 am |
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7th Post |
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Painted Horse G.O.G Community Member
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Trail riding is all I do. I probably need to spend some time in an arena. The footing on trails varies so much, that it's not always reasonible to expect them to stay in a gait. He is 6 and I want to make this the year to train him I've finally gotten him past all the stupid stuff. He doesn't feel like he is going to blow when I push him and ask a lot of him, like he did as a 4 year old. Two years ago, I knew he would buck sometime during the ride, So I was more concerned about keeping him under control and staying on top of the horse. Last year I got confident with him, This year, he needs to learn to hold his gaits, speed control etc. Unfortunately, my good friend who just loves to come riding with me, Always rides my NSH horse, Which is a big trotting horse and the alpha in my herd. My colt has a tendancy to keep stride with him, if I let him. So it's always a battle to get the gait vs letting him fall into step with the other horse. I may just have to leave my friend home and go ride this colt alone for a while till I get him set in his gaits. Wild Horse Butte in Goblin Valley State park, This was our visual landmark that we used for a reference all day as we rode.  This is called Crack Canyon and you can see the canyon closes down to just a crack, This as far as the horses go, But the hikers like to continue on past this point. 
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| Posted: Tue Mar 2nd, 2010 06:12 pm |
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8th Post |
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TessieB Ranch Hand 
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I can see why you are having a difficult time keeping your horse in gait. With that kind of scenery who cares what gait the horse is doing so long he is going! Although I'm green with envy the only advice I have to offer is work that walk. Now that your horse is physically and mentally ready for faster work it's time to get serious. By faster work I mean a faster walk. Let the horse tell you what he can handle and work from there. You are riding in very challenging terrain and the most important thing your horse can learn is how to navigate such land in a safe manner. This is the reason I like a well-trained ranch horse from out West. Although many of ranch horses are not gaited they can pull off one heck of a 'ranch walk.' Almost as fast as a slow canter and very comfortable, these horses can get you where you need to go without falling in a gopher hole. Expect to work that walk for a year or so at various speeds and you'll have a horse as good as the scenery you ride in. Still green with envy.
____________________ I scream, you scream, we all scream for a gaiting machine! |
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| Posted: Tue Mar 2nd, 2010 09:07 pm |
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9th Post |
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fireandice G.O.G Community Member 
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I don't have the pleasure of riding with any gaited horses! All my friends ride QH's and other mixed QH types. All I do is trail ride, so I am seeing just how difficult it is to ride a SSH with a great 4-beat gait in a string of quarter-horses. My gelding strides out fairly nicely even at just the walk, so sometimes even just walking along the trail is speckled with bits of stop...wait...go...stop...wait...go...*sigh*. I don't want to discourage his desire to walk on out, but I wonder if even he gets annoyed with the constant stopping? He has never trotted though, or paced thank God, and I haven't ever had any problems with him trying to mimic everyone else at a trot. But we do lots and lots of walking. This may be what helps, as someone else has already mentioned. T.
____________________ My pony knows all my secrets. I braid my tears in his mane and whisper my dreams in his ears. |
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| Posted: Tue Mar 2nd, 2010 09:38 pm |
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10th Post |
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ZippyIcelandicGuy G.O.G Community Member 
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A couple of folks have touched on it here, but consistency in gait usually comes down to the right combination of impulsion and restriction, or - collection. The horse has to be driven enough to be stepping large with the hind end and light enough in the mouth to respect contact such that they are not tense, bracing, or uncomfortable. When herd-bound horses (almost all of them) get into a group, impulsion becomes less of an issue for an under-motivated horse. It often a good experience for younger gaited horses to learn speed control, and helping them to realize that they can move their feet faster without actually moving faster. At the same time, it is important not to let the horse rush. In short, getting him to gait all the time will take practice, practice, practice. Like Brenda always says, practice a lot of driven, collected walk to get the horse used to/respecting contact and work up to a gait from there when the energy is up in walk. It is the most natural transition to gait for most horses. I (personally) don't have anything against trotting gaited horses to help them learning to extend, as well as develop the shoulders and the top-line, but that should come later. Generally speaking, if I am working on gait, I never push them in gait to the point at which they want to trot or canter, always brining them back down to walk before they reach their limit. This helps the horse avoid the habit of breaking into trot or canter without being asked. Take a peek at some of Brenda's articles - they are very helpful and well written. Gorgeous pics! Snow in the desert looks so strange to me!
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| Posted: Tue Mar 2nd, 2010 11:06 pm |
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11th Post |
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Painted Horse G.O.G Community Member
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TessieB, I will admit that this gelding has learned to cross rough stuff without tripping or falling down. He seems to be very good at keeping his feet under him. He has learned to balance me as a rider on his back while crossing difficult obsticles. Regardless of whether we are walking, foxtrotting or hard trotting. He does his best gaits when he is trying to catch up with the other horses or when we are headed back toward the trailer. So I know where he gets that implusion, I might have to resort to a crop or a popper on the reins to get the impulsion for the outbound trips. I think I'll shoe him this summer, He has been barefoot, and he does slow down when we get into rocky terrain. It's hard to ask him to move out, when I know his feet are not protected. He prefers to walk the edge of the paths, in grass etc vs moving out down the middle of the trail. Desert rides like the photos above are a lot of sand, softer sandstone, and lots of snow to cushion their feet. But summer bring trail rides in the mountains and that means granite, compressed shale and other harder footing. Zippy, Our annual Cabin Fever ride on the last saturday of February each year catches some of the last snow in the desert before it melts. This year there is more than years past. But we expect to see some snow this time of year and dress accordingly. Here is a picture from two years ago, same weekend. The cooler weather helps the horses who have not shed out yet. Plus the melting snow gives them some water or they can just eat snow.   Last edited on Tue Mar 2nd, 2010 11:07 pm by Painted Horse |
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| Posted: Tue Mar 2nd, 2010 11:53 pm |
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12th Post |
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fireandice G.O.G Community Member
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Wow PH, you have some of the best photos here! Edited to add: Just look at the middle horse in the first picture; his rider is leaned over to the horses' left and the horse is just steady-straight! Awesome! -|- T. Last edited on Tue Mar 2nd, 2010 11:54 pm by fireandice ____________________ My pony knows all my secrets. I braid my tears in his mane and whisper my dreams in his ears. |
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| Posted: Tue Mar 2nd, 2010 11:55 pm |
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13th Post |
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TheBlaze G.O.G Community Member
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That black and white thing in your picture, is that a dog? And boy, do I want to trail ride with you!!!
____________________ ~Tina Wishes are horses, and I fly! |
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| Posted: Wed Mar 3rd, 2010 01:09 am |
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14th Post |
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ZippyIcelandicGuy G.O.G Community Member
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A crop or popper isn't a bad thing - usually it is more of a "hearing aid" for them than anything else. :-)
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| Posted: Wed Mar 3rd, 2010 01:35 am |
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15th Post |
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Painted Horse G.O.G Community Member
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Yes that is a dog. Several of the folks I ride with bring their dogs. See the ledge to the left of the dog. How else can the rider talk to the rider behind, if he doesn't turn around in the saddle. You have to lean some to turn around and look behind you. This is really big country. As you can see from this look out point. 
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| Posted: Wed Mar 3rd, 2010 02:18 am |
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16th Post |
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fireandice G.O.G Community Member
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I was complementing...geez.
____________________ My pony knows all my secrets. I braid my tears in his mane and whisper my dreams in his ears. |
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| Posted: Wed Mar 3rd, 2010 03:19 am |
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17th Post |
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Painted Horse G.O.G Community Member
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I know, I was just explaining why the rider was off balance.
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| Posted: Wed Mar 3rd, 2010 03:36 am |
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18th Post |
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Karal G.O.G Community Member
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WOW! Nuttin but WOW! and wow I really hate you now! just kidding. I guess GREEN like Tessie said. You are blessed to live and be able to ride in such a grand place.! Thanks for sharing your pics.
____________________ live - laugh - love |
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| Posted: Wed Mar 3rd, 2010 10:23 pm |
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19th Post |
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MountainHorseGal G.O.G Community Member 
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What beautiful scenery! Can we all come ride with you ???
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| Posted: Thu Mar 18th, 2010 01:59 pm |
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20th Post |
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Painted Horse G.O.G Community Member
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Finally had some really nice weather yesterday. Got up to 70, lots of sunshine and the weatherman is promising rain and 40's for the next couple of days. So I grabed the gelding and headed out by ourselves. Most of the snow is gone. But the north facing hill sides still have ice and packed snow on the trails. So I would push to move along on the good trails, slow him right down to a very slow walk to cross the icey spots. We got about two miles away from the trailer and hit a dark north facing canyon that had more snow and ice than I wanted to cross. So we turned and headed back. Of course he knew he was headed back, so his speed and willingness really increased. I hate to encourage a horse to rush back to the trailer. But his wanting to go home gave me a good opportunity to work on keeping him in the gaits. I didn't have to ask about speeding up. It was always about slowing down. don't break into a canter and don't break into a hard trot. As we got closer to the trailer. I wasn't ready to end the ride, so I started finding side trails to explore everytime he got excited. Pretty soon he realized he was doing circles and loops and relaxed a bit. No longer the rush to get back to the trailer. but rather responding to the speed request that I was giving him. It was good for him to get out all by himself, I'm sure it will help his self confidence to be ridden more with out his herd buddies.
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