so this may a bit of a stupid question but I’ve noticed that one of the lady’s at the barn I ride at owns two very nice Tennessee walkers. They both gait perfectly under saddle and she doesn’t really have issues with them but while in their pasture they don’t gait. Can anyone explain this to me? Do gaited breeds naturally use regular gaits?
They might, but they might not.
Sorry for the “it depends” answer but i really does. Some gaited horse only perform under saddle while others will perform a soft gait at liberty. This is true for the breeds I’ve had personal experience with (TN Walker, Spotted Saddle Horse, Racking Horse, Mangalarga Marchador, MO Fox Trotter, KY Mt. Horse, and crosses of each).
G.
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I don’t know anything about gaited horses but this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG0k_xVbU0c&feature=youtu.be was linked on another thread. Paso Fino I think. Cute isn’t he?
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My son has a Missouri Fox Trotter pony. He’s a little guy, about 13.2, so maybe crossed with something else, but he is gaited when he’s playing in pasture or something spooks him and he goes ambling off… natural for him. The only time I’ve seen him do a working trot is when I was working “amble” (gait? Foxtrot?) to canter transitions and he’d throw a few working trot steps in when he was learning. Fortunately for my little boy who loves the smooth gait, the pony 99.9% of the time does his little “amble” or foxtrot… has a great walk too… bigger over step than my dressage horse.
another old rescue horse I got a few years ago was a spotted saddle (I think) and he was naturally gaited too. Never saw him trot like a non gaited horse. Maybe just depends on the horse or type of gaited horse in question.
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Standarbreds will certainly pace at liberty.
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My husbands spotted walker does nothing but gait, even when loose and playing in pasture, only breaks gait to run. My walker, who is pacey, will trot in pasture, and our paso will gait when at liberty as well. Depends on the horse I think.
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They’d rather relax and mix it up.
My experience is with TWH - I’m on my 3rd.
First was DH’s - registered Racking Horse as he could not be blood-typed back far enough.
He had gait, but also trotted & since we bought him to Event we never asked for gait unless we were just hacking out.
He had a Rocking Horse canter.
#2 was my ginormous (17H) Walker who Did.Not,Trot.EVER. - even in pasture he gaited.
His gait was so smooth it felt like getting a backrub.
He also crossfired at canter - which I’ve been told can be a Gaited issue.
#3 is my current Walker. Came to me as a 14yo who had been used only for trailriding.
A friend gave him to me, did not know if he could trot & had never asked him to canter.
After 2yrs working with my Dressage trainer, I now have him stepping off in trot 95% of the time & we are introducing canter.
Same friend has 2 MO Fox Trotters & another TWH.
All used exclusively for trails/horsecamping & all capable of trot & gait - both U/S and in the field.
So, like @Guilherme said: It depends on the individual horse.
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I also think it depends on the horse. Had a TWH that trotted at liberty but always gaited under saddle. Of our 2 SSHs, one will trot at liberty and occasionally under saddle but will usually gait. The other one never trots.
This raises the question: can elephants be trained to trot? I know they used to be trained for work and riding. And camels? I have seen a camel being ridden with a dressage horse; I wonder if anyone ever tried to train a camel to trot? I realize that probably no one has ever tried to train a raccoon or a possum … but on a more serious note, a camel?
BTW, I have seen gaited horses gait at liberty.
I have an Icelandic who gaits both under saddle and at liberty. In fact, the tolt is her favorite gait when she’s out in the pasture or in her paddock running around on her own.
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Yes some do and some you would never know they were pacers out playing in a paddock. IME most of them don’t for more than a couple of strides. Most of the horse’s I’ve seen pace when turned out are mares. The last one we had would really go, the boys would rather canter or go for a good gallop.
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If they don’t gait at liberty I don’t keep them. My horses, ten through the years have all gaited at liberty those that didn’t were re homed. I want a natural horse. I’ve had MFT, TWH, Spotted , Paso …
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Lol and my good friends thr mcgregors have trained and shown literally a couple 100 WGC lite shod, trail pleasure, and country pleasure horses or more over the years who may trot, slick pace, stepping pace, gallop, tranter, walkalope, etc in turnout but come together and by golly walk on under saddle.
But what about the elephant?
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They don’t trot or canter. They run!
Yeah, my MFT/Norwegian Fjord pony does both at liberty and under saddle, though he’s more inclined to trot at liberty and gait undersaddle unless I push him enough that be breaks into a trot. The stronger he’s gotten, the better and truer his trot has become.
All of my trotters and pacers did so at liberty and the foals would soon fall in as well. Most did it for the fun when running from one end of the field/paddock to the other. Those in training or racing would follow the perimeter of the fence line in their natural gait.
With Standardbreds I believe it has a lot to do with the breeding and blood lines as well. All of my Direct Scooter and Balanced Image progeny would pace/trot at liberty if given the space.
“Elephants never have a whole-body aerial phase so in a classical sense they do not run.”
Elephants walk. They walk slow or they walk fast. Their footfall sequence does not change, though according to this study, as they go faster their hind legs may “trot” - which I guess means that a charging elephant is fox-trotting.
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