# How to tell if a horse is gaited?



## flytobecat (Mar 28, 2010)

OK, now I'm reading more on gaiting and maybe it was just a really slow canter. But it felt really different from her canter.


----------



## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

There are a lot of different gaits out there. So it's very possible if it didn't feel "right" to you it was some sort of gait. Especially if people have been asking before if she's gaited. 

Do you know anything about her breeding?

I have a 4 yr old gelding out of my Foxtrotter mare. His sire is a Quarter Horse. I really wasn't sure if he had "gait" although I suspected it on occasion. But he basically walks-trots-canters like a Quarter Horse. Then I went to a clinic and the instructor was experienced in gaited horses and she's like "this horse has plenty of gait." And she showed me how to work on it. Basically my homework is to practice speed walking him to develop a gait. She said it's all muscle memory and my horse is used to trotting, but I can practice pushing his walk and trying to get him to hold those little bits of gait that he gives me right before he breaks into a trot. So that's what I have just started doing. 

Obviously of you could get video if her suspected "gait" then people on here could probably identify it. But if it's sporadic I know that is hard to do. 

"Easy Gaited Horses" by Lee Ziegler and "Training the Gaited Horse: From the Trail to the Rail" by Gary Lane are books I recommend. Gary Lane's book gives really good training advice even for non-gaited horses, and I think it was inexpensive on Amazon, so it would be a win-win even if your horse just walks-trots-canters.


----------



## flytobecat (Mar 28, 2010)

Thanks Trails. I will have to check those books out. All I know for sure is her mom was a BLM mustang. Her dad was supposed to have been an Arab. She looks Arabish, but really who knows.


----------



## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

While "gaited" horses can walk and canter, the various "gaited" movements have two beats with the legs on the same side working together rather than diagonal legs as in a trot. The only three beat movements I have ever heard of are the canter or a "Western" version of this called the lope. There can be numerous variations in the balance and movement of a horse in a three beat rhythm, however. I don't know anyone who has published a thorough study of these variations. It would be interesting to find out.

For example, we usually read of three of four variations of the trot. However, the noted Portuguese rider, Nuno Oliverira in the book "Reflections on Equestrian Art" is quoted as saying that there are at least ten variations of this movement.

I suppose a trot could become a three beat movement if the front of rear leg of one diagonal pair struck the ground first, but I don't think such an action would be "smoother" than a regular trot.

You would really need to have someone observe this movement or, better yet, take a video of it so it can be studied.


----------



## flytobecat (Mar 28, 2010)

^^Hmmm. Very interesting concept. Definitely something I will need to look into.


----------



## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Lee Ziegler has excellent advice on training gaited horses. The gene for a "gait", that is a footfall that is smoother than a trot and which the horse breaks into, faster than the walk, and slower (most of the time) than the canter, is dominant. Each 1/2 bred gaited horse I have owned rode just like my Mountain horses and the TWH I owned. Most of them were TWH crosses. Even when it's only 1/4 of the blood, it STILL is dominant and can show up.
Btw, most of the European gaited breeds, developed during the Middle Ages for comfort, died out in the 19th century. Carraige makers discovered the eliptic spring, similar to the shocks still used on big rigs, around 1820. Carraiges became much smoother to travel in and the gaited horse went out of fashion. It didn't happen in the USA bc the roads were not as good, they had many, many more miles that were travelled than in Europe, so Americans continued to breed THEIR gaited horses and created a few of their own. In South America, of course, they created the Paso and Fino (I_ believe_ they are two distinct horse breeds, but I could be wrong) and the Marchedor. The Mountain horse, so very popular in the Colonial period, almost died out, but has been brought back in great numbers. Because the numbers were so low breeders were forced to use breeding stock from breeds that were partially created from the Mountain Horse. I maintain that my 16'3hh KMH gelding must have a LOT of TWH blood in him bc of his height, bulk and weight, and the preferred size in about 6 inches shorter than he is.
What I'm trying to say is that a lot of people love riding gaited and many have done their own backyard breeding. I am sure, from your description, that your horse has gaited blood in her. =D


----------



## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

TXhorseman said:


> I suppose a trot could become a three beat movement if the front of rear leg of one diagonal pair struck the ground first, but I don't think such an action would be "smoother" than a regular trot.


That is what a foxtrot is....a broken trot. One leg (don't remember if it is front or hind) sets down just before the opposite diagonal. It is smoother than a trot. However, if you let them get going too fast it becomes more and more like a hard trot. But if you keep it slow, it's a broken trot and smoother than a hard trot.


----------



## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

trailhorserider said:


> That is what a foxtrot is....a broken trot. One leg (don't remember if it is front or hind) sets down just before the opposite diagonal. It is smoother than a trot. However, if you let them get going too fast it becomes more and more like a hard trot. But if you keep it slow, it's a broken trot and smoother than a hard trot.


According to www.*foxtrot*terfoundation.com/WHATISA*FOXTROT*.doc , the foxtrot is diagonal gait similar to a trot but the front foot of the diagonal pair sets down first. It is a four-beat gait as opposed to the two-beat gait of the trot. The original poster stated that the gait in question is a three-beat gait. Of course, the poster's count might have been off. That is why a video would be helpful.


----------



## flytobecat (Mar 28, 2010)

I wish I had video


----------



## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

So did I say something wrong? :neutral:

I never claimed to be an expert on "beats" or anything. I thought I was just expanding on what you (TXhorseman) said. :-(


----------

