Gaited Horses

Need help with my 3 yr old MFT

bbryant5_73 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:44:59 GMT

Background: I started him under saddle the last weekend of August, rode him pretty consisently. But with weather and me being sick for 6 weeks I couldn't ride him like I wanted to do. He's a very laid back, doesn't spook at much, took to the saddle with no problems didn't buck nothing. I always do ground work with him before getting on him though I'm sure it would be fine if I just saddled him and just got on.

Ok so I'm trying to teach him that squeeze with my calves means to walk or go forward if he doesn't his 2nd chance is for me to kiss to him and his 3rd chance to respond is to spank. I have done some ground driving with him so he knows what 'walk' means and he knows what the kiss sound means. So when I take that to the saddle - I squeeze with my calves if he so much as moves a muscle in the forward movement I praise him and release all pressure, I squeeze again and if he walks forward I release the pressure and praise. But I can't get him to walk successfully in a straight line, he's all over the place, and he does stay moving forward for very long either. On his right turns he does good but on his left turns he will turn his head at the same time raises head and walks forward, I have to really use my left leg at the girth to get him to walk into the turn.

So I need help and lots of it! Any suggestions on how to get him to walk and walk until I tell him to whoa, how to get him to do a left turn.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!!

Brandi

Train, Don't Complain

www.obediencetrainingclubofbartlesville.com

"Be black and white, no shades of gray. In other words, don't be a nagging mother" Clinton Anderson

"Sometimes you have to go through some ugly stuff to get to the good stuff" Clinton Anderson

Gaited Horse Saddles--General Question(s)

bassclef54 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:39:28 GMT

My horse isn't a gaited horse, but I'm looking for a new saddle and am wondering, what's the difference between a saddle made for a gaited horse v. a non-gaited horse? Am wondering in particular re Western or Endurance saddles. Would a gaited-horse saddle work on a non-gaited horse?? Thanks for any info!

Mary

What breed gaited horse do you ride?

Dancing — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:27:19 GMT

I'm a member of the 50 plus gang (and then some!) and I've been thinking lately that a gaited horse might be in my future. SOOOOOO I was curious about the breeds that forum members ride. I looked a ways back and didn't find this topic. I hope I'm not repeating a previous thread. Feel free to write an advertisement for your special breed!

Jan

New to Gaited horses any info.....

crp126 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:23:15 GMT

I have never owned or ridden a gaited horse in my life. I have the chance to get a gaited TWH mare who is well broke to the trails and such. What do I need to know? I know that's a broad question, but I haven't the slightest clue and the riding stable I am at doesn't have any gaited horses in it. I would be interested in possible riding her in shows, but I ride hunter jumper. Is this something she could be trained to do just like a non-gaited horse? I'm sorry for my ignorance but I really don't know.........

Thanks everyone!

Montana Mountain Horse gaited saddle

KimD_horse — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:13:27 GMT

Hi,

Does anyone have any experience w/ these saddles? My current saddle is not a great fit for my 14.2 MFT/TWH mare (it is nto a gaited horse saddle & is pinching her withers). In my area (suburb of Philadelphia), tack shops focus on English, with very few western saddles of any kind & I have yet to find a place w/ a single gaited saddle in stock that I can look at. Some places can special order me one, but I really don't see a benefit to that over ordering online since I don't get to see it before committing to the purchase....

It seems that most manufacturers do not make gaited saddles w/ a seat size smaller than 15" & a lot even start at 16". I really prefer a 14" seat (current saddle is 13.5" & it fits me fine, but not my horse).

I'm leaning toward a leather/cordura saddle for the lighter weight - I have a hard time putting on my ~27 lb all-leather saddle. I can get it up there, but because I'm struggling to be able to set it down gently I have a hard time getting the placement right w/o knocking the pad out of place.

One of the things I like about the description on this site is that you can put down a deposit & they will send you a tree to see how it fits in 3 dimensions, rather than depending on a withers tracing.

I'm just wondering about the quality since I have never seen one of their products in person & have no way to (short of a plane ticket). Based on the photos & price, I'm thinking they would be about the equivalent of the Big Horn Cordura saddles w/ teh leather (not suede) horn, which I am familiar w/.

http://www.montanamountainhorse.com/store-products-MHG6-Go-Light-Gaited-Saddle-19-lbs_14254197.html

Any thoughts/suggestions?

I've seen other brands I really (Dixieland, Tennessean), but the seat size or weight doesn't work as well.

Kim

Western Saddle pad needed for a small back

Brittany — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:45:59 GMT

My TWH gelding has such a tiny back, he needs a saddle pad thats 30x30.. All of the small that I find are 160-180.00! Did anyone else have to look around for a nice short saddle pad? Where do you find them for under 80.00?! Lol

Need some Help

Deesmom06 — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 05:10:55 GMT

Hey guys... I havent posted on here in quite a while, but need some help with my newest horse Major. He's gaited, and I need some help finding some good refereance books, videos on riding a gaited horse. I can't seem to find a gaited trainer in my area, and now that I'm trailer less, I need some help. He's a big boy, and although I can get him to gait intermitantly, he wont stay in gait. I know it has more to do with my lack of knowledge, than it dose with his willingness, as he will go forever for me. So... any good refereances (sp) I do not have the internet at home, so web pages at this point arn't going to be helpful!

Thanks!

Michelle

my horse keeps turning her back to me.

karenez — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:16:46 GMT

I have a 9 year old TWH that every time I approach her she turns her back to me as if she would kick. She has yet to kick at me but I just take it from her cues that she will. How should I deal with this? She I tap her on her hip with a crop when she does that to make her face me? I never had this problem with me other horses. Thanks

Locking stiffels in Gaited horses?

PegasusFarmsAppaloosas — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:31:19 GMT

I am relatively new to gaited horses. I've been riding and training for a while but fate has me working on a farm with Mt Pleasure horses. Recently a 3 y/o gelding came in dragging a leg. Fearing the worst I had the vet out and we were informed that he had locked his stiffel. He had never done it before and I had never heard of it in horses (dogs yes) she said it was actually common in gaited horses because their tendons are more laxed and the mechanisms that allowed horses to sleep standing up gets 'stuck' Stall rest was called for with Bute for anti inflammatory and pain relief. After a while I decided to start riding him again, the next day he locked up again. More rest and turnout without work and I tried riding him again this time just across the pasture bareback in a straight line for about 5 minutes, the next day he was locking again. Frustrated I let him go for a few months and tried again. no go. So I started trying to ponying him around every other day, trying to strengthen his legs. He started locking after the 3rd session. I was told hills were good for them so I switched his pastures to one with a slight hill. The owners don't want to try any of the more dramatic remedies (injections and surgery) she's even willing to let him be a pasture ornament but last year he was under saddle without a problem with another trainer. He frustrates me because it seems like when I try to exercise him (avoiding circles and tight turns) he gets worse not better. Any advice?

loping a TWH cause hip problems?

Steppin with Walkers — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:56:34 GMT

Has anyone ever heard that turning a TWH in tight circles or loping one can cause hip problems. I know that tight circle isn't good for any breed but loping......

Quick Question re Saddles

bassclef54 — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:58:27 GMT

Can non-gaited horses use gaited-horse saddles? What makes the gaited saddles different than the non-gaited?

Thanks,
Mary

June Horse Carnival has been released

Givemegait — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:17:38 GMT

A June edition of the horse carnival has been released. There are a lot of interesting articles which you may enjoy - including Lessons from the great outdoors with horses. We can learn a great deal from these magnificant creatures. Hope you enjoy:

http://talk2theanimals.net/general/horses/carnival-of-the-horses-june-edition/

Foal is born

Victosmith — Sat, 30 May 2009 21:09:17 GMT

I have been reading the forum for a while and just signed up. I have owned horses most of my adult life but I just saw an amazing video on the following blog of a foal being born in the pasture that I wanted to share. If you have not witnessed a mare foaling, now is your chance. It is amazing to watch - at one point the mare in foal actually gets up to follow the herd (not wanting to be left alone) - the herd realizes this and stops - waiting and watching until the foal is born and the mother encourages the baby to stand. Hope you enjoy

http://vanbertfarms.blogspot.com/

New Walker

Steppin with Walkers — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:02:04 GMT

My husband has a KMH cross and she has no gait. I mean all she has is this teeth rattling beat the ground walk and trot lol. My husband has had back trouble for years and then one day all the bouncing around finally hurt him. He refuses to ride her anymore but I love her on trails and roads she is safe and sturdy so we are not going to sell her. Instead we are buying a 11 year old TWH for him. She has been to the trainers 2 times, the first owner wanted a super fast and smooth horse and she passed the smooth training but failed in the fast, so they traded her to the man that has her now for a faster TWH. He used her for a foal and now wants to sell when it's weaning time. She is stunning. I am not a person that worries over little thing and I honestly could care less if she is perfection. Her gait was smooth, but her attitude was of an angel. She hadn't been rode in 3 years and even with the foal there bucking and running around she didn't act up one bit. I was sold. So in 2 more months this little beauty will be delivered to her forever home.

Trail riding with a Walker

pipandblue2 — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 09:49:38 GMT

I have a friend who rides a Tennessee Walker on trail rides. I'm tired (and sore) of jogging on my stock horse to keep up and have started looking for another horse. In your opinion, should I only look at walkers or are there any other breeds that can gait at an equivelent speed? Or would it be an individual basis? I'd hate to invest in another horse to be dispointed when I'm left behind...again! Thanks for your input!

MFT falling down

Dima — Sun, 31 May 2009 20:38:19 GMT

Hi, I have an 11-year old MFT gelding who has fallen down several times in the past few months. (He was loose in the arena.) The first time he recovered, and righted himself before going completely down, and the front of his right rear fetlock was scraped, so he must have landed on it or scraped it in a recovery effort. The second time he went all the way down and landed on his right hip, again scraping the front of his right rear fetlock and this time also nicking the inside of his right front just above the fetlock. Both times he got up and continued trotting around.

He shows lame on both hind legs when moving in a circle, but not at all going straight. Three vets have done lameness tests on him and can't figure out what's wrong. The only medication we've tried is bute for about 10 days which didn't affect the lameness. One of the vets is also an equine chiropractor, and she adjusted the pelvic area, several vertebrae and his neck, all of which seemed to make him happier, but didn't affect the lameness. An equine physical therapist has worked with him for two sessions and gotten him to relax and also corrected his movement (he was tracking wide, especially with the right hind, and sometimes standing quite wide with his right hind). She thinks he is not lame, and suggested muscle relaxants for a month while walking him in a straight line and doing an exercise which involves moving each hind leg out to the side a few inches and back several times. She thinks he may be confused about his movement. He is from Missouri and was trained quite hard before I got him at 5 years. He used to foxtrot only, but over the last 6 years because I haven't kept the gait up, has lost most of it, now mostly regular trots and sometimes paces, but nothing uniformly (my fault). Before the "lameness" showed, I exercised him lightly almost every day, but he has actually only been ridden on the trail 2-3 times a year and then only for a few hours, so overwork is not an issue.

I talked what the physical therapist said over with the latest vet and she disagrees. She thinks it might be arthritis in the hocks and suggested injecting the hocks. I'm very leery of that. On the other hand, my feeling is that he must have some pretty severe pain to be falling down. Unless he's so confused he got his right hind caught on the right front and tripped himself up. Twice.

Has anyone had any similar experiences? Any suggestions? Thanks!

TWH Wins Craig Cameron's Extreme Cowboy Race!!

walkinthewalk — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:06:00 GMT

I can't believe no one's posted this yet

http://www.twhbea.com/News/ExtremeCowboy0506.php

Some more pictures

http://www.twhbea.com/News/PinsonPics.php

Just a Hello from a Gaited Horse Lover

countryclips — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:13:47 GMT

Just joined up and would like to say Hi. I own 3 Icelandics, 3 Mountain horses and 1 Foxtrotter. Trying to keep them all in shape and healthy is a full time job. I trained 3 of them myself and they are now 5 and doing so well it scares me... I have been learning so much about the gaited breeds and keeping them in gait and am so thankful for this computer forum stuff. It is wonderful to have somewhere to go to ask questions and help others.

My biggest challenge is with my 5 year old Icelandic filly. She is too fat and so lazy that it takes every bit of my abilities to get her going. I worry about her foundering. She is definatley not my favorite to ride because of this. I have tried to let other people ride her and she just stops and won't go for most of them. I keep thinking if I could justs get her to lose a few pounds she would go better. but it hasn;t happened yet.

Is anyone still gaiting?

saddle up_horse — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:49:35 GMT

Is anyone still out there?

walkinthewalk?

TouchMeNot?

HunterJumperGal?

Paintlvr?

What is everyone up to?

New to the Gaited thing

Deesmom06 — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 05:51:32 GMT

I just adopted a 10 year old gelding from a Horse Rescue, and was wondering if any one could help me as to what he may be breed wise? I have never had a gaited horse before, but found after a 2.5 hour ride this weekend I am soooooooo in love, my back felt better than it had in a long time, and so did my sore knee! I am not sure what kind of gait it is that he dose, but I know I was just flying accross the corn field at one point, no bounce! It was so awsome, and so different than the bumpy trot that my Morgan mare has. I will try and get some video of him eventually, but for now this is the best that I can do.

Any Ideas as to what he is? I was thinking possibly Saddlebred/Quarter cross or my friend was thinking Tn. Walker cross?

Thanks for the help!

ETA:

Here is my photo bucket link, as this stupid forum still cuts off pictures!

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q200/mlipps504/

Is Pheo gaited?

amberp11703 — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 02:08:47 GMT

I have had several people comment that Pheo moves like he is gaited. I have been watching videos of gaited horses and I think maybe he moves like a Foxtrotter?

Video of Pheo

Video of a Foxtrotter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NeaFu4Y_Zs

Pic of Pheo:

Picture of Foxtrotter:

http://www.iceryder.net/foxtrot2.html

I would appreciate any feedback.

Re-establishing trust with spooked horse

Galsi — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:54:25 GMT

Hi!

I'm new to the forum. I have owned a 15 year old Icelandic gelding for two years. He came to me as an abused horse with a huge trust issue with people. In the two years I have had him I've managed to get quite the relationshhip established and enjoy Pat Parelli's Level 1 training with him. A couple of weeks ago I took him out for a hand walk and finally found the one thing that caused him to react big time in the form of a parked NSTAR panel truck with engine running and lights flashing. He spooked so badly that he ran off trailing his 12 foot lead rope. The barn owner and I managed to get him back safely and ever since the incident he is reluctant to let me anywhere near him with the halter. I can do heaps of liberty work with him using my body and hands. He will even turn and face me but when I approach him he's off and running. The vet is due in on the 24th and I'm not able to halter him. Any helpful information will be greatly appreciated. I know that in time I can manage to get him to allow me to halter him but I'm feeling pressured because of the vet appointment.

gaited saddle for small horse?

KimD_horse — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:17:51 GMT

I recently purchased a small MFT/TWH - she is about 14.2h, maybe slightly less, & narrow. She's 9 years old, so she is done growing. Everything I read about gaited saddles describes them as being wider in the front & I really don't see how this will fit my little girl.

I currently ride her in a Big Horn synthetic that belongs to the farm that I board at. It's listed as quarter horse bars, which are supposed to be fairly narrow. it seems to fit her fine - no dry spots, decent wither clearance, but I do use 2 pads to make sure I have that wither clearance.

Unfortunately none of my local tack shops stock gaited saddles. I live in an area where 90% of the riding is english, so finding western saddles in general is difficult & selection limited. So I;m afraid to try ordering a gaited tree saddle because I don't think it will come close to fitting a narrow horse & I'll end up needing to ship it back.

Any thoughts ?

kim

Help with my Standardbred.

thatwindow — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:09:16 GMT

So I've had this OTSB gelding for 2 years now(and I love him). I have taught him to trot but am having a heck of a time getting him to canter. We have tried going out into big open fields. He does break into a gallop but can't seem to pull it together enough to slow down. His racing career was ended because of a suspensory injury. He has re-injured it a couple times while trying to gallop. So I have decided to keep him gaited. My question is, how do you go about turning a "pace" into a "rack"? I can get a little of it out of him but then he gets too lateral and starts pacing, which is very hard to sit. I'm not really sure how to get him to keep that smooth gait. Any help would be great!

New forum

Jayne-Admin — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 02:23:40 GMT

You asked for it, and here it is! Here's a place you can chat about all the gaited breeds, including Missouri Foxtrotters, Icelandics, Tennessee Walkers or Pasos to mention a few. Any gaited breed enthusiast is welcome here! You are welcome to discuss training issues or riding or care questions specific to these breeds.