I donāt think it takes that long to learn to rack if you have good balance and body control, but the horses that do rack are a bit more horse than a beginner and many amateurs want to ride. They can be hot, forward, and super sensitive. They are plenty safe just more horse.
My friend had a special one, I let my kids ride on her mare and they racked for the first time at 10 y/o, 6 y/o, and my youngest was 3 but I put him in front of me on the saddle. My 6 y/o had only been riding for a year. They were fine in the indoor on a straightaway.
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I think if you read about dressage as it existed in the 1700ās and 1800ās in France you would notice a striking similarity to saddleseat riding.
Re: Racking (and slowgaiting). My old five-gaited mare who was long past retirement from showing when she came to my farm would still happily slow gait and even rack at full speed. Bareback! With just a halter! and bareback! Sheād been trained and campaigned as a young mare on the SE circuit by a legendary trainer (as I found out after a lot of research, not very easy in pre-internet days fo sho). That training was still remembered when she was nearly 30. Lovely mare, physically and mentally.
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Interestingly enough there are sport Saddlebreds in the hunt field (and in dressage, of course). Iāve suspected for a while that there arenāt over-fences classes at the Saddlebred shows because they just donāt want to mess with course-building. The Arabian people got to the point with course building hassles where they now just separate Arabian showing into two disparate competitions. The rail people go one place. The sport horse enthusiasts at a completely different place. At one time, years ago, the shows had a full card (but it was super difficult to even get warm-up jumps, we finally took to bringing our own). There was a great deal of pushback against Arabian hunter/jumper and dressage classes by the ātraditionalā competitors and often the shows couldnāt even get sponsors for those classes.
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In part, I have heard many saddleseat folks talk about the expense of fences because of the liability caused by the danger jumping presents. I have never run a show, so I donāt know if the insurance is different for jumping vs. flat work (I do know that I came off many more times when I was jumping than after I switched to dressage but thatās anecdotal non-data lol) but that is how it has been reported to me. There is a perception in the saddleseat community that jumping is very dangerous. Which is funny to me because when I first came from hunter-land saddleseat on saddlebreds looked pretty wild and dangerous 
The bias is hard for me to wrap my head around, except that I often hear that a lower more forward headed horse is āno longer a saddlebredā. To a certain extent I can respect that the horse no longer meets the breeding ideal that they wish it to, but the AQHA has been very successful in part I believe because they market many different types of horse - a reiner looks nothing like a HUS horse.
In our region the Arabian dressage competition is held at the same venue & show as the other flat classes. Not sure about the jumping classes as Iām not involved in that world, but I do see the show bills because sometimes they allow saddlebreds to show with them.
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Okay, finally with an update!
I have lower back issues due to childhood falls (not horse-related), which caused me to have SI joint problems as an adult. At my lesson last Tuesday, I rode a horse that moved around while mounting and when I quickly shoved my right foot into the off stirrup iron, I somehow caused the SI joint to act up, giving me terrible back spasms! I rode anyway (you know us horse people!), and just sorta hoped theyād go away. Then I rode yesterday! Finally saw the doctor on the way home. Got some Flexeril (sp?) and tramadol, so definitely woozy, but feeling better.
Anyway! I am loving saddleseat! At all three lessons, I rode actual Saddlebreds and they are wonderful horses! So full of personality, with such great gaits! My instructor said the horse I rode last week had a ābumpy canterā, but if thatās a bumpy canter, wow! It was still really smooth! I love the trot! So much action! So easy to post!
I am a convert!!! 
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YES!!! So excited for you!!! Love Saddlebreds, one of my favorite breeds besides hackneys. Once you ride one with a nice canter though, you wonāt go back, its like being in a rocking chair on the front porch.
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The canters on the school horses Iāve ridden are SO different from h/j! Wow! Just lean back and rock along! I canāt wait to ride some really good horses-- the canter must be AH- MAZING!
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No.
Iāve just started being able to enjoy the fun and excitement of them after years away, and next week Iām going to try riding again. I have done saddle seat ā loved it!
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I second this!
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Interesting. The way I learned to rack was, I was at college and got permission to ride the mare belonging to the man who managed the dairy barn. On my first ride we were out in an orchard going down a row of fruit trees and I asked for a trot and I got ā¦ something 4-beat and smooth! I thought, hmm, this must be a rack or a running walk and it turned out to be a rack.
Western saddle, not a cutback; no double bride of course, probably just a western shanked bit of some sort, and thinking back, the mare may have been a Racking Horse, not a Saddlebred. A lovely sweet mare.
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Iāll never forget my 1st time. Decades ago but I remember it like it was yesterday. I even remember the horsesās name. Beck, he was lovely.
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Do Saddlebreds have the Synchrogait gene, or do they have to be taught to rack and slow gait? (Some Morgan lines have it and there are breeders who specialize in gaited Morgans.)
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It depends on the line. Some lines have a tendency to be more racky and you have to really work on keeping the trot, where others you have to add some light weight up front, barefoot behind and working them down hill to get it. They have to be forward in nature and be smart enough to connect the dots, otherwise you can screw up a perfectly good trot.
Racking can be hard on the backend so any soundness issues knock a horse out of training to rack as well.
Honestly, I havenāt seen a true slow gait in ages and a lot of gaited horses Iāve seen lately are getting a bit lateral in movement for my taste. Not sure if itās cause, but just my observation.
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Thereās a barn show tomorrow-- I was going to ride in it, but bowed out due to my back. Iām disappointed, even though I know itās the right decision. Even barn shows are fun, especially when itās your first show since COVID. I think Iāll go anyway, and be part of the cheering section. 
Oh, and there IS a cart in the barn, so there must be at least one road pony. When I have enough experience, I plan on asking if I can take driving lessons!
No rack for me yet. Itās a definite goal. I LOVE the trot on Saddlebreds already. That huge lofty gait is SO easy to post-- what a dream! It takes hardly any effort!
The personality of these horses is so incredible, too. They are so sweet and funny and fun. Love them already. And theyāre such HAMS! I see why some people say theyāre the peacocks of the horse world!
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I think if the horse is comfortable for the rider to ride, the rider is more comfortable for the horse to carry. 
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What is the āSynchrogaitā? Could someone please explain this?
Oh, no! Just when Iām getting into SBs, Iām finding out that the gaits Iād love to ride arenāt there!
I think so too! The three horses Iāve ridden so far have been wonderful! Why did I wait so long??? 
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Here is some information and testing for those genes:
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