# let horse choose gait on trail?



## Herdof2 (Nov 24, 2012)

I'm wondering if anybody lets their horse choose the gait when out on trail? Most people i have asked have almost yelled NO, NEVER. But I know my buddies who are mounted search and rescue folks always do. Now I'm wondering what y'all do.... And if you do, when/why?


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## SouthernTrails (Dec 19, 2008)

.

I would say letting a Horse choose how fast they want to go is dangerous, Horse's need Control for the safety of the Rider.... JMHO


.


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

I find it questionable that the mounted search and rescue people "always" do as the very point of doing search and rescue is to do cover your grid in a controlled manner so as not to miss anything while still covering the ground as efficiently as possible - which means being in control of the rate at which your horse is traveling.
There are times it is safe to "give the horse his/her head" and let them pick up the pace if they want, but there are also times where it would be incredibly dangerous for the rider NOT to be the one choosing the speed at which to cover a particular area of ground. Personally, if I am getting the feeling that my horse is up for a good run I will find an area where that would be safe and allow them to pick up the pace if they want.


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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

Are you talking about letting them gait? Since you have a gaited horse. Or are you talking about just letting them go do what they want?

I do not have a gaited horse but if I let her go her pace it will be run. She will run down a hill if I let her. Then on the way home it would be bolt.


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

poppy1356 said:


> Are you talking about letting them gait? Since you have a gaited horse. Or are you talking about just letting them go do what they want?
> 
> I do not have a gaited horse but if I let her go her pace it will be run. She will run down a hill if I let her. Then on the way home it would be bolt.


That'll teach me to read a posters other posts/remember what types of horses they have - good question, poppy.


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## Herdof2 (Nov 24, 2012)

Perhaps 'always' is too strong of a word - in conversation they were saying they have to focus on their job, scanning with their eyes, etc. and they trust their horses to choose gait. I guess this idea just kind of jumped out at me b/c it isn't something I've considered before (with the exception of situations like you mention; so I know at the straight away my horse will want to canter and I let her, but I still feel I made the decision!).

I was on a trail ride a few months ago, and this is when the idea hit home - we had been told the riding was great and we got there and it was terrible. There were points on the trail when I was wrapped around that mares neck and couldn't see a dang thing (growth overhead); add in downpouring rain, bad footing and spots narrow enough for a bike, not a horse (boy was I black and blue). Go off trail and go down a nice ravine - I have never been so terrified in my entire life - ever. I have a new found feeling for being able to truly trust a horse; it's usually about getting the horse to trust me and count on me (in training, in general) but that day, it was all about me trusting her...

I guess my question was a little vague: I guess I am wondering if you are on a trail how often or when you would give your horse their head - maybe that is what I should say instead ...


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## Iseul (Mar 8, 2010)

I don't exactly let her pick her pace, as I have to consistently speed er walk up to an actual walk on every trail..she just lags. If we get to behind though I'll drop my reins on her neck (with my hand still on them) and give her her head. She knows that when I stop with my hands she's allowed to do her pleasure trot. So, technically I cued her, but it's a lazy *** way of doing it, lol. I'll occasionally cluck if she doesn't get the idea, but I've only had to twice after I started dropping the reins. My reins are usually gathered up to the point of almost having contact (because she has taken off in the arena before and I'd rather not chance it with a cliff and tree branches all over the trail, lol), an when I drop them she can choose to jog or go into a working trot if she'd like. In the arena it's different though, she will only walk on a loose rein as that's all we've ever done on a loose rein in the arena (always at a show) because of the taking off. I don't anticipate it and I know she normally does good (so I know it's not me), but I like to have my reins gathered a little more if we're going to be doing more than walk, and she's gotten the idea from 4 months of the same thing, lol.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

Well if you aren't on a trail or things get iffy like that I will give my horse the reins and she will get us out. That has happened a few times and she will go slow then. But on a trail I only ever give her her head when I am prepared to run. As soon as I drop those reins on a groomed trail she is gone.


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

Sometimes I will let Biscuit choose the speed of his walk....that is about it. He will speed up his trot in a flash at times when he is supposed to be jogging. Mostly he is a good boy but he is still a horse!


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

I always reserve the right to tell my horse what speed I want. But sometimes when she's nervous, she wants to trot or prance for a while. If I fight her on that, it becomes a fight and it becomes a big deal. If I let her, she normally calms down after a couple hundred yards. But if she goes to a canter without being asked, I shut her down because an unasked for canter almost always turns into an unasked for gallop, so I stop her and have her loop back for a minute.

Don't know if I do it the right way or not. My gelding will just wait and do what he is told, but he has a very different personality than my mare.


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

I don't let them pick their speed unless we are heading up a hill. Many horses prefer to trot up, which is fine, and they almost always stop at the top.

If my horse is feeling fresh and ready to go, I will get them under control, cue a steady forward aid, and then they can trot that way, AFTER I have asked them to. But not just because.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

When riding with others, I always choose the gait and speed of my horse. When riding along I occasionally allow them to choose but that's only for short stretches of time.


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## jamesqf (Oct 5, 2009)

To me, it seems much more like a conversation/negotiation than one of us choosing. Like sometimes we may be walking along, she'll let me know she wants to trot, and if I think it's ok I'll let her - but if we're riding with other people or something, I may have to keep her at a walk. Then sometimes I might want to trot, and she lets me know she doesn't want to - maybe she's hot/tired - and generally I will listen to her (because she does have a lot more experience of being a horse than I do of riding), though sometimes I may insist, anyway.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

In general, I pick the speed and Dream can pick the gait. 

However, because of the terrain we are covering, we rarely don't agree on the speed as during a race I want her covering the ground as fast as safely possible (and she has great self-preservation so doesn't want to speed down a trail and kill herself).


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

It depends on circumstances and safety conditions.

I have Tennessee Walkers. If we're in a spot that I deem safe, I will let them "walk on" if they want to. It's always controlled by me, however; they just don't go running off and yahooing about.

When I rode trotting horses, they all knew how to lope. I would let my horses engage in a slow lope, under the same safe conditions if they felt like moving out a bit faster.

There's a right way and a wrong way to let a horse do what they want. The right way is to say "ok, but it's my rules while you stretch your legs and your brain".

Just like with raising children - sometimes we let them "get away with" something and sometimes we don't------------------------


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

To update what I wrote...yesterday my mare got very excited about a canter and did NOT want to listen. At a minimum, she wanted a fast trot to join with our Appy a couple hundred yards ahead (ridden by my youngest daughter) and to home. It was a fight to get her to walk, so I compromised: she could walk *to* the Appy, or trot *away* from the gelding. She got to choose the speed, but I got to choose the direction. It went on for at least 5 minutes, and felt like longer, but in the end she decided going *to* the other horse was more important than *trotting* to the other horse. For the rest of the ride, she was a sweetheart.

And the Appy? Good ol' Trooper just stood there, looking slightly puzzled at our antics but willing to wait until we got things sorted out. Not sure if I handled it right, but it seemed to work out OK.

There is a difference between a horse saying, "A trot would be fun now" and a horse saying, "I'll trot (or canter, or gallop) if I want to!"


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

> there is a difference between a horse saying, "a trot would be fun now" and a horse saying, "i'll trot (or canter, or gallop) if i want to!"


ita!!!


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

bsms said:


> There is a difference between a horse saying, "A trot would be fun now" and a horse saying, "I'll trot (or canter, or gallop) if I want to!"


 I should have waited 29 minutes for "bsms" to post this ^^^^. I could have saved myself some typing:lol::lol:


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## LesandLily (Oct 8, 2012)

I think the S&R folks are probably riding pretty well broke horses that know their job and have had a good relationship with their riders. The horse "knows" what speed to go through endless repetitions of doing their job. 

I guide packtrips and the mountain horses we ride are not very well trained but very well broke. They know their job, know what speed to go in certain types of terrain and really for the most part the speed is set by the guide horse. When I am on a trail ride I allow my horse to pick the speed...as long as it is a speed I want. If it is slower or faster then they get cued up or down until we are going the correct speed. Enough times of doing that and they are "allowed" to pick the speed because it is the one they learned. We typically give the horse "it's head" in dangerous footing or stressful situations as the horse, if they know their job well, will get through it better than a rider could guide them through it, particularly a dude rider.

A quick story about that...I was leading a photography packtrip in SW Colorado into The Canyon of the Ancients. After a leisurely 10 mile ride over flat level terrain we came to the edge of the canyon. The outfitter told the group to "let your horse have it's head" and disappeared over the edge. We basically were following an ancient indian trail that switch backed down the canyon wall over 800 feet. With cliff on one side and drop off on the other we slid and scraped our way down the trail with many drop-off ledges and loose rock. Some of the drop offs we went off of were over 2-3 feet high. Talk about a butt puckering rush! (going back up was enough harder. The horses had to rear and lunge to get their feet on the ledge and get up on it) If we hadn't let the horses have their head, there was a chance someone would have pulled at the wrong time or gotten itno a fight with their horse, the horse would have panicked and the 800 foot fall would not have been survivable. In situations like that (or Search and Rescue) a horse has to be trusted and know its job. If it doesn't, it shouldn't be ridden there.


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## Herdof2 (Nov 24, 2012)

I agree with all said and all examples given. I like Phantom and Painted way of putting it- "i pick the speed, they can pick the gait" - a nice differentiation I failed to make.

I think you're right on about search and rescue, again, maybe I used a bad example to use to start the conversation - (LesandLily's reply). 

But a good conversation this is/was, so thanks everyone.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I have let the horse pick their gait and speed. I've bought a few show world and gaming rejects that seemed to be unsure when traveling normal, uneven ground. Once I knew they really did have stop, go, right and left in their repertoire, I let them travel at will. Sure, if a decision needed to be made, mine stuck. But, it did seem to help them relax quickly.

If I'm riding a long distance to check something, I will let a horse choose it's gait, too, if it's safe to go faster when they want or we aren't dealing with time constraints. I know when I allow this I may get some "I feel good" wiggles from them as we go.


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## BlooBabe (Jul 7, 2012)

If I'm riding a train I've ridden a lot I'll let my horse do whatever he wants. Unless we're crossing a road or a stream then I almost never hold the reins. If I need him to slow down I'll pull him in but most of the time he knows. On new trails I'll keep a very loose hold on him but unless we're in an open area or a wide straight trail/lightly used dirt road he's usually a slow goer enjoying the scenery more than the option to bolt.
If it's any other horse the most I allow is breaking into a trot unasked for. Only I get to chose when we canter or gallop.


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## shandasue (Nov 22, 2011)

I allow my horses choose their speed alot, but im still in control of them. both my horses and I are very in-tune with eachother. they know what parts of the trail are safe for a run (they know all our trails well), and I can tell when they want to speed up. if i dont want to alittle tug on the reins is enough. my horses can ushually tell when I want them to speed up without me asking, I do cue them somehow obviously, but i can't tell ya what the cue is lol. speaking of rescue groups, i would love to join one with my horse. we know all the area around us. but nobody does anything around here!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Beatrice9 (Jun 30, 2012)

I let my gelding have the reins if I want him to make a decision that's in the best interest of our safety, but other than that he's kind of the "give an inch, take a mile" kinda guy, so it's favorable for me to command him rather than the other way around! LOL


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## RiverBelle (Dec 11, 2012)

I have always let my horses have their head and pick their speed on the trails. Having said that, I have always had horses that were trail horses that knew to only walk on a trail. It helps that there is usually more than one horses with me, and if the other horses are walking, usually mine will just fall in place with them. I usually go on rides through pretty tough terrain when I do go on trails, so I like to give the horse their head and let them choose their pace, and where they want to place their hooves. I have found it can be dangerous when you are going down a steep hill and you hold your horse back, or make them go the direction you want them to go. Typically, the horse knows where they want to place their feet better than the person does.

I look at trails and riding on the road differently though. When I ride on the road, I keep my horse at a easy walk, never letting her choose her pace. Occasionally I will let her trot up the road some, but only if I am crossing the road, or there is a blind spot I want to get around quickly. But I never let my horse canter/lope on the roads(And I mean blacktop ones). That can be harmful to their legs if done for a long period of time.


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## Mochachino (Aug 14, 2012)

When on a relaxed trail ride I allow my older gelding to think for himself a lot of the time, but he never takes advantage of it and I can always get him back. If we come to a fork he will chose a direction but if I ask for the other way he always listen. If we are bush-wacking he chooses the way unless it is ridiculous, and even on the trail, he wanders over and back working his way around rocks etc. I hate to micro-manage my horse, I always ride on a loose rein, however I know am very lucky that he listens to me the second I ask for it and is always willing to follow my lead when I ask. I know that with my younger one I will not be able to do this.


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## JumpingJiminy (May 2, 2012)

That would be a big fat no for me. Letting my ottb gelding always choose his speed especially when he's in a new place would not be the safest thing to do. Plus, we do compete in the hunter/jumper rings so every ride we have we are still working on control.


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