View single post by Brenda Im
 Posted: Mon Nov 23rd, 2009 05:02 pm
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Brenda Im



Joined: Tue Dec 7th, 2004
Location: New York USA
Posts: 3520
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 My first concern is that you're going to switch to a farrier who 'specializes' in gaited horses - you absolutely should not try to improve the gait by changing trimming angles or going to any sort of weighted shoe.  To do so is detrimental to the horse's health and soundness. . .just stick with having her trimmed to her own natural angles, and leave the gait training to be done from the saddle.

And speaking of saddles, it very much sounds as though you have an issue there.  In order to do a running walk, the horse has to have a great deal of freedom through the topline.  Unlike a trot, the action of the gait is from rear to fore, much like a wave rolling from the loins, through the back, shoulders, neck - and resulting in the head nod.  Any interference with this action will affect the horse's ability to achieve or maintain their gait in good form.  What happens is that the horse experiences hindrance of motion, which eventually causes pressure soreness at that point.  In order to avoid the pressure, the horse will either revert to trot, or (more commonly), hollow their back to avoid the pressure and revert to pace or stepping pace. 

The fact that your horse takes a few hard steps of trot and then goes into pace is a very strong indication that she is trying various methods to avoid painful contact with the saddle at some point.  Check out the article on the home site for checking saddle fit, and see if you can figure out what the problem may be:  http://gaitsofgold.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=564:saddle-fitting-article&catid=22:gaited-horse-training-articles&Itemid=3

PB r1



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