Having a correct dressage background, then moving into gaited horses later in life, for me the motion is sort of mesmerizing, and I find that if I just chill and ride and follow…I end up in a chair. YMMV.
I am confused about the chair position and gaited horses. All my life I have pursued a balanced seat and have been taught that the chair position is actually putting pressure on the horse’s spine where it shouldn’t be. Can someone help me understand the dynamics of the gaited horse and seat? How does one collect the gaited horse and help bring about compulsion if the “engine” so to speak is in the front rather than the rear? I’ve been riding my fox trotter just like any other horse but I have noticed that he doesn’t gait as well for me as he will for someone experienced with fox trotters.
Oops…meant impultion not compulsion! Lol
You are disrupting his balance by trying to collect him. His back will need to be at least neutral and his body completely relaxed through his ribs in order to gait.
Ask those riders to watch you and coach you. My old gaited dressage coach was so dressagey in her seat that my young horse never would relax with her butt in his saddle. Her version of just sitting was still driving lol
You want to sit a gaited horse the same as you’d sit any other horse: in the middle, in a classical seat, in balance, and relaxed. With a trotter you’ll frequently want a bit of bascule but just how much will depend on what you’re doing. Bascule with a gaited horse, particularly a horse with a lateral gait, will not be the best idea if you want that “smooth and easy” way of going as you can induce a more diagonal gait if you do that.
Most trotting horse folks see any ventroflextion as a Very Bad Thing in equine movement. In a horse with a lateral gait a small amount is not going to be a negative as that can well be part of their native way of going. A neutral back is likely the better practice in most instances but then you should never say “never” and always avoid the word “always.” 
Ride the horse under you. A soft intermediate gait can appear on a broad spectrum of ways of going and one size does DEFINITELY not fit all.
Get a good video of you riding the horse square and in the center with minimal contact while they are walking, gaiting, and cantering. The object here is MINIMAL rider input so you can see what the horse want’s to do without being cued to do it. Some folks do this both on the longe or in the round pen as well as under saddle to get the broadest view of the horse’s “native gait.”* Once you have that then you can think about what, if any, modifications you want to make.
And, within reason, using riding technique to achieve the gait quality you want will not have undue negative consequences for the horse. But DO NOT be “seduced” into the world of “leather and iron” solutions that are rampant in most North American gaited breeds. If you’ve not already been told to trim the feet to some arbitrary angle or increase shoe weight or move the saddle back or take ahold of the mouth or add devices to the legs to “improve” the gait, you will. Don’t. Just say, “no.”
Most gaited horse are very “passenger friendly” and are horses “anybody can ride.” But to really RIDE one you do have to learn the nuances of your horse’s way of going. Good luck in you project. 
G.
*Note that this presumes the horse is correctly trimmed/shod to anatomical correctness; is in good condition with good fitness; that tack is correctly sized and fitted if being used; and that the general conditions are such that the horse is relaxed and not at all anxious. Conditions need not be perfect, but they should be such that the horse is not going to be unduly interested in anything but the work being asked.
I find that there is a lot of ridiculous-ness in the gaited world, esp the more “backyard” you get. The “you have to have crazy shank bit, long toes with weighted shoes, xyz bridle and saddle, and make sure you sit like a hunched over monkey getting it on like a football” is just not true. One of my favorites that I’ve heard is a person who refused to ride with my trotting horses (I have both) because his gaited horse would hear the hoofbeats of my trotting horse and forget how to gait (yep, for reals). I work gaited horses similar to a lower level dressage horse- teaching push from behind and on the bit slightly above vertical. I find hills to be a great partner in training gaited horses and I try to leave off small circles. I ride in a regular balanced seat position- chair seat isn’t conducive to much other than making it easier to fall off lol.
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Funny, but I’ve heard trotter owners say they don’t want to ride with gaited horses for the same reason!!! Proving that “ignorance” is not always a limited commodity.
Concur in the comments on bits, shoes, etc. When we bought our first Walkers this is what we were told and we actually did for a couple of years until we learned better.
You’re quite correct in your program. There are some differences between good riding technique between the gaited and trotting horse, but they are more subtle than obvious.
G.
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Check out this article from Lee Ziegler on how to ride/sit the various gaits.
https://lizgraves.org/lee_ziegler/riding_the_gaits.pdf
Her book Easy Gaited Horses is a great resource. I read it cover to cover when I dipped my toe into the gaited horse world and it helped immensely. https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Gaited-Horses-methods-training-pleasure/dp/1580175627
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On the advice of Liz Graves, I use a dressage saddle. It leaves the shoulders free and unlike some western saddles, isn’t too long over the back and doesn’t put me in a chair seat. It gives me a nice, secure seat where I can still feel the horse. I feel MUCH more secure in my dressage saddle than my western saddle (hence I never use the western one), especially on trails. I want to be balanced over my feet, not in a chair seat or almost over the horse’s hips.
As far as treeless saddles go, Liz Graves says they’re fine as long as the combined weight of rider plus tack is not over 150 pounds. I agree with G though, I think a treed saddle is a better choice.
I also ride in a Myler comfort snaffle and he gaits just fine. I’ve never used a shanked bit on him. This horse always gaits in the field (NEVER see him trot at liberty, EVER). If he isn’t actually on the bit when I ride (depending on whether I ask or not), he at least has a nicely arched neck, no ewe neck.
YMMV.
Definitely read the Lee Ziegler book. If you get a chance to go to a clinic with Liz Graves, I’d do it.
Every gaited horse I have rode loved a bit of support from the reins. Although not as much as some of the OTTB hunters I have been on! I swear my arms were 2 inches longer after each lesson.
Never really got the chair seat with the gaited horses or mules but I have always been in saddles which allowed for the proper shoulder movement. And I have a saddleseat eq background. So there is that.
For sure lol. There are plenty of times that I think it might be an unlimited commodity though :lol:
Thank you everyone! Super helpful information!
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