# From Western to Gaited Horse?



## TwistedChick (Sep 26, 2011)

Would you consider changing discliplines after a lifetime of western riding?
Here's the story: I am an older rider and have owned quarter horse /western type horses for 35 years. After owning a near perfect horse (for me) I am at the stage of having to find a new horse due to lameness issues. I tried giving up riding but was miserable this summer. After riding some borrowed horses, I have decided that riding is something you can continue to do no matter how old you are and I want to keep riding! Although I am not a great rider, I have developed skills over the years and have taught many beginners to ride.

After trying out some horses, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm just a one-horse woman! My quarter horse mare has such a wonderful quick step, a good attitude and is so calm on the trail. She was the same at age 3.

I thought I might try some gaited horses, in order to get that nice smooth ride but so far have not been impressed! The first one I tried out was a really nice little walking horse but was spooky. The next one I tried, the stable hand rode without a problem, but when I got on, he took off as if a shotgun had gone off. I was so embarrassed! I managed to get him back under control and rode around a bit but he never really settled. They did warn me that he had issues with not understanding the cues but the only cue I had given him was a slight loosening of the rein to get him to go forward.

The next TWH I tried was a speed walker and I don't think I can deal with that on a six-hour trail ride. I like a quick stepper but this was wind in your hair fast~

I have ridden gaited horses in the past and in fact, the first horse I actually owned was a small saddle horse. I thought I knew how to hold the reins, etc.

I am wondering if riding a gaited horse should be so different from riding a western horse, or am I just looking at the wrong horses? Also would a gaited horse walk too fast for the people I ride with, who mostly ride QH's, or can you slow them down to fit the speed of the rest of the group?


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

Maybe look into a cross breed. Our Arab/QH walks just fine and has a gait with the lope. Our TWH is always go go go. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Appys are gaited too. At least ours seems to have a smoother lope than the QH's. He walks fine too. All we do is trail ride and they se to walk fine except the TWH.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## WickedNag (Sep 7, 2010)

I thought I had already owned my once in a lifetime horse too. Like you I am an older rider, love my stock type horses. I tried a couple of gaited horses too thinking it was time for a change. Went back to the stock type. Bought a 12 yr old grade gelding this summer and couldn't be happier!

Good luck to you in your search!


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

You are looking ad wrong specimens of the breed, I trail ride a TWH and will never go back to a non gaited breed. I ride on a loose rein and neck rein, I dont do the high stepping racking show stuff.
Saying that a walkers natural gait is faster than a QH walk, but slower than a QH trot, which makes riding together a pain sometimes. 
Lots of walkers are calm good trail horses with a nice smooth walking gait, and a nice smooth 2nd gear, You dont have to be all in their mouth or hold there head perfect, if you do keep looking.
You may consider a Paso fino, they are gaited but have shorter steps so move slower.


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## Tianimalz (Jan 6, 2009)

Maybe look into a mixed bred Racking horse? 
That's what I got, her mother was full blooded TWH, her father was unknown... she's level headed, has a average walk, smooth gait, and I use all my western cues on her with no problem at all. That said, I also knew another half TWH mare who was registered as a Racking Horse, she was pretty much the same temperament- and likewise for the spotted walker I also knew. And they are SO lovable LOL. My friends also ride QH's, so not out-riding them is def a plus, and like I said my Racking mare has a pretty average walk, and the ones I worked with on a trail line were no speed walkers either.

So maybe a mixed breed would be something more enjoyable for yourself? All the ones I worked with were around the trails their whole life (except my mare, but that's a different story), no shows or super fancy training. 

Hope you find the horse you're looking for, Good luck!!


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

Do make sure you get a saddle fits, 
I cant count the number of behavior problems I have seen with TWH's that are 100 percent caused by people putting Qh saddles on them.


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## bubbleslove (Mar 9, 2010)

My paso is very comfy, trained Western, and keeps the same pace as the non-gaiteds we ride with. Another one I used to ride would keep the same pace as whatever horse we were riding with - he would take turtle steps to stay with the slow-poke Appy, or if we were with the speed-walking paint, he'd move out and stay with him. I don't know enough to give any advice about other gaited breeds, but the pasos seem to go really well with your requirements, they just tend to be on the smaller side.


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## twh (Feb 1, 2010)

Riding a gaited horse in a group of non-gaited horses is a pain: when you gait. you'll run way ahead of your non-gaited friends, and if you try to slow your horse down, it will drive your horse and consequently you crazy.

It doesn't sound like Walkers are what you should be looking at having read your post, however it sounds like you tried some odd specimens in any case. Been-there-done-that TWH's do exist, and the ride is fantastic, but you won't get it trying to keep your horse down to the speeds of trotting horses.


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

Tried riding my TWH with QH's, it's not a pretty match to say the least. A flat walk is between walking and trotting speed for QH's. Try to slow your TWH down and they don't like it, often giving you a rougher ride then same said QH. If the QH mixes walking and trotting to keep up it causes problems too, often your TWH will then break gait when the QH starts to trot. Even if your TWH doesn't break gait it's like riding with a yo yo for a partner.

Best you can hope for with TWH is to find one that isn't to fast and ride with QH's that step out decently, then you can kinda have a decent ride.

Can't say much about the other gaited breeds but as others have said, I'm sure there are breeds that can be comfortably ridden with QH. It's that or find a smooth gaited QH.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Not sure what price range you are in but I am sure the 1st one that took off was not well trained and should have been at the lower end. A well gaited well trained horse can easily be 5K


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## TwistedChick (Sep 26, 2011)

Thanks for the replies ... a lot to consider. This was driving me crazy and now I have some perspective.


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## bubbleslove (Mar 9, 2010)

churumbeque said:


> Not sure what price range you are in but I am sure the 1st one that took off was not well trained and should have been at the lower end. A well gaited well trained horse can easily be 5K


Very true - it just depends how much you want to put into the horse. I got my filly from a show breeder, they had too many horses and not enough time to train them all. She was bargain basement, but also extremely green. We sent her to a reining trainer I'd worked with before, so that we could get the basics on her and get her going with the cues I already knew. She's now a great little horse, but she certainly didn't start out that way! I picked her based on her personality entirely - thank goodness it worked out!


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## Tianimalz (Jan 6, 2009)

Yeah, I was lucky with Indie... I got her from a hobby breeder that was getting out of the business. Indie had no papers, she had been a complete accident and happened to get her mothers gait. He was asking $400 for her as a 2 year old with no training, I traded two days of labor for her. 
Sometimes you just gotta keep an eye out for a deal.


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## caleybooth (Mar 11, 2011)

I ride a Missouri Fox Trotter. I absolutely love it. She will slow down and walk with quarter horses or she will gait when ridden with other gaited horses. I've ridden fox trotters my entire life. (Starting at age 4 with my grandpa)

As far as transitioning goes - I tried my hardest to ride a quarter horse. I really really wanted to ride on the drill team, and they only let you ride quarter horses. So I spent a month riding one of our quarter horses. After that month, I decided that I'd much rather just ride my little fox trotter around than be totally uncomfortable on a rough quarter horse. So due to that, I've given up my dream of being on the drill team. 

I don't know how hard it would be to go from riding a quarter horse to a gaited horse, but I'll tell you it's VERY VERY hard to transition from a gaited to a quarter. You have to sit differently, use different leg and hand pressure. I know that my mare gaits the best when there is slight constant pressure in her mouth. The only time I ride her with a complete loose rein is when she is just dog-walking with quarter horses.

I don't know where you live, but it seems that gaited horses are cheaper and more plentiful in the South. Someone was just advertising a dead-broke registered fox trotter on facebook for $400 yesterday.


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## Calmwaters (Aug 24, 2011)

I love, love, love QH but due to a back injury I had to switch to gaited horses. I recently purchased a Paso Fino and she is super smooth! I have not been on a trail ride with her but I do know several people that have Pasos and ride with QH's and they have no problem keeping up. The Paso should have a flat or normal walk, as well as a gait called classic fino or paso fino this is a very collected gait with little forward movement and is used mostly in shows, a paso corto gait which is more extended and is about the speed of a trot for a nongaited horse, and the paso largo is the speed of a canter or gallop. I would suggest that you try several different horses of each breed you try out because the gaits can be slightly to very different depending on the bloodlines of the horse as well as the training. Most Pasos are naturally gaited but some do go through training to refine the gaits. Also, just because the horse is gaited it does not mean you can not ride western any more you just have to make sure the saddle fits. Good luck in your search.


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## G8dtrailrdr (Sep 9, 2011)

I ride two Rocky mares, mom and daughter. The mom has no trouble walking relaxed with QH. When we ride with most TWH she has to do a fairly quick amble/rack to keep up with them when they just look like they are walking! The daughter walks a little faster but still rides pretty well with QH, and her rack is about the same as mom's. I'm usually sorer after a 3-4 hour walk ride than a 6 hour ride when we've done a lot of gaiting, so the gait is smooth. To me, they have been very versatile. If you haven't ridden one, maybe you could give one a try. As far as cues, other than asking for a little more collection to smooth out the gait, I don't think my general cues are any different than western riding, but I'm no expert.


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## TwistedChick (Sep 26, 2011)

G8dtrailrdr said:


> I ride two Rocky mares, mom and daughter. The mom has no trouble walking relaxed with QH. When we ride with most TWH she has to do a fairly quick amble/rack to keep up with them when they just look like they are walking! The daughter walks a little faster but still rides pretty well with QH, and her rack is about the same as mom's. I'm usually sorer after a 3-4 hour walk ride than a 6 hour ride when we've done a lot of gaiting, so the gait is smooth. To me, they have been very versatile. If you haven't ridden one, maybe you could give one a try. As far as cues, other than asking for a little more collection to smooth out the gait, I don't think my general cues are any different than western riding, but I'm no expert.


As a matter of fact, a friend of mine rides a Kentucky Mountain horse. And the Rocky Mountain horses seem like a nice ride as well. 

Some of you mentioned the price of the gaited horses. The good ones aren't any more expensive than the stock horses in this area. I only want one for trail riding, not to show. Even with the horse market being what it is, you still get what you pay for!


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