# What do you call this gait?



## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

Doubtful he's gaited. Sounds like he was cross cantering, and maybe switching front and back leads all over the place. :wink: Or maybe trotting on his front end, cantering on his hind, and vice versa.


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## PerchiesKisses (Dec 6, 2010)

He didn't feel like he was switching leads, be he might have been doing a funky trot in behind canter in front... maybe? lol


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

It sounds to me like what is typically seen with hot horses. They want to run but they are being held back so the closest they can come to running is this strange, loping in place gait that is aggravating and uncomfortable. I see it most often with barrel horses as they enter the arena for their run.

There is a pretty darn good example of what I'm talking about at 2:15 in this video.


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

It's called "being bad."
We call that a high lope around here, which is confusing, because that's also what we call a fast canter moving into a gallop. Lope-in-place.

Don't let your horse do it or it will become a bad habit and a hard problem to fix.


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## Equilove (Feb 21, 2011)

I think I know what you're talking about, OP... It's like he's cantering in the front, and trotting in the back? My friend's mare does that when I ask her to move out and she doesn't want to. It's her minimal-effort-canter. What the other posters described was what a horse does when it wants to move out, but can't... I don't think you were holding him back, were you? Personally I think it's him being lazy. My old TB gelding had a super slow rocking-chair canter but would break down into a gait similar to the one you described when he got tired.


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## PerchiesKisses (Dec 6, 2010)

It did seem to be similar to what some of those barrel racers were doing, but he wasn't rank about it. He wasn't haulling on the bit, and as soon as I asked him to come back down to a walk he did so easily and calmly... it makes sense that he might have been a bit lazy, as he's recently went from being sitting in a field for the winter to having to actually work. So it does make sense that he may have been tired and just didn't feel like working.


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## Fort fireman (Mar 5, 2011)

Did it feel like this looks? Just my opinion and I mean no disrespect to those that like this but it just looks plain Goofy. It doesn't look like it would be all that rough to sit but if your horse is over working at it it could get kinda choppy.


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## PerchiesKisses (Dec 6, 2010)

Fort fireman said:


> Did it feel like this looks? Just my opinion and I mean no disrespect to those that like this but it just looks plain Goofy. It doesn't look like it would be all that rough to sit but if your horse is over working at it it could get kinda choppy.
> 
> YouTube - Scottsdale Western Pleasure Maturity-Lope R-1


 
You know what, that looks like almost exactly what he was doing, except his front end was popping up a little higher than these guys' are.


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## appylover2408 (Mar 17, 2011)

Fort fireman said:


> Did it feel like this looks? Just my opinion and I mean no disrespect to those that like this but it just looks plain Goofy. It doesn't look like it would be all that rough to sit but if your horse is over working at it it could get kinda choppy.
> 
> YouTube - Scottsdale Western Pleasure Maturity-Lope R-1



soo sorry but this is why i dont ride western or would never like to do western pleasure and they doo look goofy


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Appy, don't let things like that turn you off to western entirely. Most western trained horses don't move like that.


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## Fort fireman (Mar 5, 2011)

I ride western and have for years. However I don't ride this type stuff. I am all about natural movement and alot of people are. That is why there are alot of other events around that actually discourage this type of movement. The biggest here lately are the versatility ranch horse type of compatitions. It is all about a horse going and doing a job. That gait will not help in any way to cut or rope a cow, or moveout to make a circle and doctor on cows. That is what the basis of these comps are about. 

Back to the original question. if that is indeed what your horse is doing it sounds like it may have done some western pleasure stuff in the past. i would say if you don't like it either bring your horse back down to a trot or go up to a canter as soon as he starts it. maybe with alittle time he will think it far to much work to try doing that relatively lazy gait when he has to really work at an extended trot for awhile everytime he does it.


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## PerchiesKisses (Dec 6, 2010)

Fort fireman said:


> i would say if you don't like it either bring your horse back down to a trot or go up to a canter as soon as he starts it. maybe with alittle time he will think it far to much work to try doing that relatively lazy gait when he has to really work at an extended trot for awhile everytime he does it.


I'm not sure yet whether I like it or not lol... it would be interesting to train him so that he'll pick up this funky gait on command, but so far it has been just a one-time stunt.

While I agree that western horses who move like that don't look natural.. I certainly have a lot of respect for a horse that has the muscle control to move like that at will.


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## appylover2408 (Mar 17, 2011)

hay i got no prob putting a western saddle on and going out on trail or going around some barrels but western pleasure no i mean i have respect for the riders and the training but the whole weighted rains and ... no i like close contact


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