I was up in a big field today playing…I mean conditioning with my OTTB. It was a bit cooler than normal day and he was feeling a bit happy. Suffice to say what was supposed to be a nice forward cantered ended up being an all out flat gallop. When I got back to the barn, I mentioned to another rider that I can’t feel any movement beneath me when my horse is in a all out lowered gallop. She said that her horse is always bouncy and effectively always in a 3 beat canter no matter what the speed. It never occurred to me that the gallop is not a natural gait for some horses. Is it only TBs who find it natural?
Hum… Can’t say I have ever known a horse that does not have a 4 beat gallop. Her horse never gets a wild hair and really open up when in turn out etc?
TBs are far from the only horse capable I galloping.
I have a young mare who sounds like the other rider’s horse. She hasn’t learned how to gallop and flatten out as you describe. Her conformation is such that she is short backed and very uphill so she prefers to lift her front end and move accordingly. She has the best canter I’ve ever sat on. I am pretty sure she will get the hang galllping with practice. She can certainly tear around the field. My ISH (3/4 Holsteiner) can gallop flat out with no problems. But he is not built uphill although he is a fooler in that he does lift his front end and people think he is uphill.
So the conformation of some of the warmbloods may predispose them to prefer an uphill and not flat out gallop. FWIW, the gallop that UL level horses use is not a flat out gallop. It takes (literally) years to train a horse to do a proper gallop so as to jump effectively and manage certain questions xc without losing speed. That is where the uphill and bouncy horses may succeed as they can increase speed while still maintaining a level of engagement necessary to negotiate the more diffdcult questions.
So, it sounds what you have is a race horse gallop which is fun to ride but not that useful on a xc course.
Oh yeah, I would certainly not want to jump off that gallop! It’s wicked smooth but flat as a pancake. He can switch back to a high canter on a dime which I find very impressive. It’s amazing how many gears these horses have.
I’ve always ridden/owned TBs-- I’m currently riding a little paint mare for someone and she definitely does not have a natural gallop, or even much of a canter. Running around in the field she pretty much bounces around with her tail straight up.
Finally found my young Trakehner’s gallop today… by going out with his friend, an 8 y.o. TB that’s 4 months off the track and a hand taller 
Sometimes it just takes a little more incentive…
Some horses are just as competitive as some people are
I can clearly remember my first flat-out gallop like that. I was a teenager galloping the little QH I was leasing and we were in what I thought was her top speed. Then she dropped what felt like a foot, smoothed out, and hit another gear - I had never felt that before! Then she bucked me off
Even your OTTB had to be taught how to gallop - his education was just much earlier than non-racing horses…
[QUOTE=Heinz 57;7738367]
Even your OTTB had to be taught how to gallop - his education was just much earlier than non-racing horses…[/QUOTE]
So technically is it a natural gait for them or not?
it is a natural gait, however, it’s not really any different than one’s trot: some horses are more predisposed to more suspension, others are flatter in their movement.
[QUOTE=tbchick84;7738087]
I was up in a big field today playing…I mean conditioning with my OTTB. It was a bit cooler than normal day and he was feeling a bit happy. Suffice to say what was supposed to be a nice forward cantered ended up being an all out flat gallop. When I got back to the barn, I mentioned to another rider that I can’t feel any movement beneath me when my horse is in a all out lowered gallop. She said that her horse is always bouncy and effectively always in a 3 beat canter no matter what the speed. It never occurred to me that the gallop is not a natural gait for some horses. Is it only TBs who find it natural?[/QUOTE]
I think this is kind of true. For example I have two show jumpers; one bred to event with lots of blood and half tb, and the other a registered KWPN all the way back. It’s really funny when they gallop in the field, the event bred horse has a great gallop and is miles faster then my KWPN gelding. The WB tries his absolute best to gallop as fast as his buddy but he just can’t keep up. He just doesn’t flatten out the same way as my event bred horse.
That being said, as they are show jumpers, the event bred horse isn’t as fast in show jumping due to the fact that I always have to rebalance. Depending on the time allowed I sometimes have to keep a pretty tight tracks to stay under the time and jump clean. While the WB I never have to rebalance the same way, and I can feel how in a jump off he is so balanced I wouldn’t have to touch the reins galloping down to a fence.
So is this something that a talented horse shopper can decipher when looking for a horse, or do you just take your chances and expect to do some degree of retraining?
[QUOTE=Risuena;7738328]
I can clearly remember my first flat-out gallop like that. I was a teenager galloping the little QH I was leasing and we were in what I thought was her top speed. Then she dropped what felt like a foot, smoothed out, and hit another gear - I had never felt that before! Then she bucked me off :-)[/QUOTE]
My first ‘real’ gallop was under very similar circumstances - I was leasing an older 15.2 hh chestnut QH mare at a big H/J barn. I was about 12 and took her out in a field bareback, cantered around at a nice pace, then pointed her toward the barn and let her open up. I remember being astounded that I couldn’t even feel her hooves touching the ground. She was pretty rangy for a little QH so I suspect she was racebred. But I will never forget that gallop!
When I galloped Lusitanos and PRE’s in Portugal and Spain while horse trekking, we had a good gallop on but they did not do that whole drop down and open up like my Tbs and QHs at home. I think it is a conformation and movement thing. Granted, that is a sample of four Iberians, so take it for what it is worth.
[QUOTE=tbchick84;7738422]
So is this something that a talented horse shopper can decipher when looking for a horse, or do you just take your chances and expect to do some degree of retraining?[/QUOTE]
You buy a canter and a good jump for an event horse. You do not need a gallop like you described. You want a balanced horse who covers the ground easily in a light manner. I can tell right away if a horse has a canter that I like and typically if they have that good canter they will have a good jump and good gallop for eventing.
[QUOTE=Risuena;7738328]
I can clearly remember my first flat-out gallop like that. I was a teenager galloping the little QH I was leasing and we were in what I thought was her top speed. Then she dropped what felt like a foot, smoothed out, and hit another gear - I had never felt that before! Then she bucked me off :-)[/QUOTE]
I had a very similar experience on a little QH - without the bucking off, though! We were on top of a ridge in a very long pasture, but the fence was coming up fast. Thankfully I was able to stop him, as I wasn’t sure the little dude had any jumping ability…
[QUOTE=tbchick84;7738087]
I was up in a big field today playing…I mean conditioning with my OTTB. It was a bit cooler than normal day and he was feeling a bit happy. Suffice to say what was supposed to be a nice forward cantered ended up being an all out flat gallop. When I got back to the barn, I mentioned to another rider that I can’t feel any movement beneath me when my horse is in a all out lowered gallop. She said that her horse is always bouncy and effectively always in a 3 beat canter no matter what the speed. It never occurred to me that the gallop is not a natural gait for some horses. Is it only TBs who find it natural?[/QUOTE]
Nope - I have a PRE with warp speed, but many more strides to the furlong.
The walk, trot and gallop are the only natural gaits inherent to every horse that has or or will ever live. Every horse can gallop…but as someone mentioned earlier, not every horse will choose to or can open up like many TBs do. Plenty of horse’ gallops feel like three beats.
The canter is a taught/learned gait. You then go into other “natural” gaits that are breed specific.
[QUOTE=Abbie.S;7740599]
The walk, trot and gallop are the only natural gaits inherent to every horse that has or or will ever live. Every horse can gallop…but as someone mentioned earlier, not every horse will choose to or can open up like many TBs do. Plenty of horse’ gallops feel like three beats.
The canter is a taught/learned gait. You then go into other “natural” gaits that are breed specific.[/QUOTE]
really? Because most of the foals that I have canter right away. They gallop a bit later but they certainly come out of the box with a canter. Trot often takes several months to see. Canter has three beats. A gallop has 4. I think they are both natural gaits.
