Quite often I get to the barn because I know my horse needs some attention and work, not because I’m super motivated because of a show. It occurred to me today that having his reason for continuing to ride, that is, the welfare and quality of life for my horse, will carry us both a lot further into the future.
I know all of you may be sick of hearing this but if you want to keep riding and be around horses then get a GAITED horse. First to the OP dressage is awful for your neck and back, the sitting trot is to stressful for the injuries you have described.
I’m an oldie with lifetime of injuries and did not want to give up riding. Twenty years ago friends suggested gaited and I couldn’t be happier. Its easy on the joints and fun to ride. The trick as in all disciplines is finding the right horse. If you do not know gaited horses than you will need help as every horse is different and never believe the seller that the horse just needs work to gait. As with any breed conditioning and training will improve the horse and the ride but I can jump on mine after 4 months of not been ridden and they gait. Of course when they muscle up the ride gets smoother .
The human part of this is its easy on the joints and muscles. You aren’t pounding your vertebra like a sitting trot does to your skeleton.
I hope this helps those who want to keep riding consider another style of horse.
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Not so easy, gaited is not always smoother, some horses are rough while gaiting, I have ridden some of those too.
Also, in regular non-gaited breeds there are some super smooth horses.
Those that need a smooth moving horse, look at the horse itself, ride the horse yourself, because what is smooth is not the same for every rider.
Some gaited horses may not bounce you, but the trade-off side to side movement can be a killer on bad hips/lower backs.
The smoothest horse bar none I ever rode was an arabian colt I started for the breeder, that absolutely glided over the ground, you could not feel him move.
He became his main endurance horse for many years.
Just keep your mind open to any and all when looking for a smooth horse.
Ah if you read my post I make the point that every gaited horse is different. I also stress to be very careful buying a gaited horse as many are not well bred or come from a “mixed” breeding.
If you ever rode a gaited horse that was not smoother than a trotting horse than thats the problem I am stressing to “newbies”. However at a canter you have a more equal (pun) footing. At the walk ,on a good gaited horse you should be at least at the speed of a slow trot and in heaven at the power and smooth ride.
Its sad that so many people never get to ride a good moving gaited horse and hence never understand where we gaited people are coming from with all our drooling.
I have ridden maybe 100 horses of different gaited breeds and everyone of them felt and moved a little differently. Good ones are rarely sold. I never sell mine.
Its kind of like great sex, you know when you had it. LOL
Oh forgot to say side -to-side movement. I have no clue what that is you referring to unless maybe a poorly gaited paso. Paso have been ruined ,wow they were great movers but once imported to this country we have messed them up badly. I remember riding a Grand Champion from Puerto Rico in the late 70’s, a dream, sell my kid for that horse.
Glide ride is the term used to describe natural gaited(barefoot) TWH horses.
I also had a old time Crabbet bred mare from North Dakota that was a dreamy smooth ride but a trotting horse never has that big gliding fast moving walk that has now spoiled me for “regular” horses.
Sorry I was not clear, my point was, smooth is smooth in any breed and smooth maybe different for each rider.
We both are saying the same, I am expanding it to all horses, saying don’t only try gaited ones looking for a really smooth one.
The more different horses someone rides, the more they know what fits them, in horses of any breed or gait.
I appreciate the suggestion regarding gained horses, however the few I tried were horrifically uncomfortable (and that was pre-injury). The TB I ride is like floating on a cloud. My trainer has another that is so comfortable he would be ideal for riding aside. Oh how devastated I am to give up that dream. The other concern (and please, I mean no offense), I come from a farm of show horses, and baited horses do tend to freak them them out. With such a drastic change already, I’m not sure I can give up everything and move barns as well. This whole idea has been very emotionally stressful on me. My aunt was a saddle seat rider (prior to her children’s births) and she actually advised against that direction.
LOL !! Not funny though…
I’m feeling my age too. Now I just get on one of my guys and go for a nice walk trot trail ride on the buckle, hoping for good behavior which I usually get. Will never be fit enough (ever again) to do more than slow hack.
I miss the good old days of jumping and galloping racehorses. Now it’s just ‘I feel OLD’ days. Any moment I’ll be wearing pajamas and slippers to go to the supermarket!
I do have some friends who have switched from hunter/jumper to gaited horses. But I had gaited horses as a child, so I know they too can be hot, American Saddlebred five gaited ones. So I just keep on jumping, and choosing my hot horses to make sure they don’t want to dump me. It’s the mindset of the horse that concerns me, as I don’t want a horse like some I’ve seen at barns, horses that do not like their owners or riders. I’ve always had horses, both the gaited ones and the jumpers, who wanted to protect me and not dump me on the ground.
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At 72, gaited horses come to mind. Some are better than others. Have ridden a Missouri Fox Trotter that was to die for.
Several mountain pleasure/Rocky mountain horses. A couple were awesome. The other two left something to be desired.
Love TB’s and when starting riding again 2 years ago after 12 years off, the disabled school gave me a 17+ TB who had
competed three day. It took a few months but we found the cruise control button and the rounding, moving forward button (I suspect he was waiting for me to get my act back together). One day when I was yaking and not paying attention, found myself riding one of best sitting trots of any horse.
Since starting back after two knee replacements, I’ve had a hip replacement and think the other hip is asking to retire
and just had three vertebra fused. I’ve been riding an 18 hand warmblood at a hunter jumper barn but just up to cavaletis
and still no cantering which trainer and I need to talk about. Wasn’t going to jump when I started back but have the bug
and would like to play with it for a while and then dressage my way off. Driving is also on the horizon…it looks like fun,
especially the combined driving.
