# spotted saddle horse confo?



## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

They are parked out and yes they do that at shows. A lot of owners of SSH and TW have them park out in order to mount them. I don't know which came first as to showing them that way or using it in order to mount. Nor do I know if it's still a thing, it been a long time since I had one.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

You see it in other breeds too - the Morgan and Hackney spring to mind.
I don't understand the purpose of it as you can't really judge a horse's conformation when its parked out like that


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

I was made FUN OF by Hubs cowboy friends and by Hubs for saying this breed even exists... and then we rode with the trailrider group I'm a member of. The older, long time members ride these. 

NONE of them are ever asked to park out, for mounting or otherwise. This must be an exaggerated show thing.

They are built... oddly... if you will, at least compared to the locally, commonly seen quarter horse. They're narrow on the front end, as far as how wide their front legs are spaced. Compared to a quarter horse, they're very close together. I mean you look at it and scratch your head. 

Not all are gaited, there's still a few genetic misfires that don't inherit the gaiting genes (I think in an early cross or a back yard breeder attempt, you end up with a 50/50 chance? IIRC. I could be wrong). My screwball horse Trigger is probably a small built SSH, or a SSH/Mustang cross given he has many traits of both breeds. He does sorta try to gait, but can't hold it - sometimes folks want the horse, but don't want the gait, and will 'whup it out of them' so they end up conditioned to not gait.

They're loud, very flashy, seem to all be very low key in nature (Something Trigger is NOT, hence the thought it's mustang or even Arabian influence in him). Very sure footed trail horses, and the older trail riders in our group are all recent converts to gaited horses because they have that smooth rocking chair gait. I watched an 80 year old man ride for 4 hours back in October... he wasn't the least bit sore or tired when we got back to camp.

Everyone there that rode one sang their praises, but you better be ready to pick up and go if you ride with them and your horse doesn't gait - even Trigger, who usually demands he be the lead horse, had to hook it up to keep up. Poor Gina felt compelled to trot almost the entire time to stay caught up.

Here's some non-parked out pictures.


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## Caledonian (Nov 27, 2016)

That stance has to cause an awful lot of strain to their bodies as everything's out of alignment; especially if you add in the weight of a rider. I can almost hear tendons and joints straining looking at the photos.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Caledonian said:


> That stance has to cause an awful lot of strain to their bodies as everything's out of alignment; especially if you add in the weight of a rider. I can almost hear tendons and joints straining looking at the photos.



But you don't see them parked out with a rider on them. Almost all of those photos, even saddled up with no rider, are at a normal stance.


I guess this is like Show Anything Animals. Exaggerated, absurd stances are considered The Thing to Do for some weird reason. To me, it makes them look like a caricature. I'd much rather see them squared up, like the traditional Quarter Horse Stance.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

my experience is that horses with narrow chests, where the front legs are close together, often have a smoother ride. There is less of the side to side rocking of a horse that has it's front legs further apart.. 



I don't mean horses that are 'base narrow', becuase these horses are wider at the top, then narrow down at the hooves. These horses will often swing their head side to side and will plait in front, and be more prone to tripping at the walk.


my lease horse has a fairly broad chest , and front legs that are pretty widely spaced. He has a lot of 'rock and roll' side to side when he walks, and he 'paddlesp, too ( which is common for Andalusians), but he is very sure footed and almost never trips.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

tinyliny said:


> my experience is that horses with narrow chests, where the front legs are close together, often have a smoother ride. There is less of the side to side rocking of a horse that has it's front legs further apart..
> 
> 
> 
> ...



It's like body roll in a car.


These horses, apparently, have a lot of easy rocking motion, in any gait, very little body roll.


What I find interesting is there are efforts now to develop gaited MULES... have the same rocking motion of the gaited parent, but the sensibility and easy keeper, sure footedness of the donkey parent. If you have knee problems, are older and need a mule with an easy rocking gait, those are apparently the cat's meow.


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

Saddlebreds are taught to park out as well. It is my understanding that this practice is used to make it easy to mount the horse. I do think that the photos of SSH 's above are exaggerated


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## Filou (Jan 16, 2014)

Just wanted to say the best thing I ever rode was a gaited spotted saddle mule out in Zion nat. park. Got to go back and request her and she was still the best 10 years later. 
I know when the opportunity is there I will lease a spotted saddle mare to make my own spotted saddle mule!


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Filou said:


> Just wanted to say the best thing I ever rode was a gaited spotted saddle mule out in Zion nat. park. Got to go back and request her and she was still the best 10 years later.
> I know when the opportunity is there I will lease a spotted saddle mare to make my own spotted saddle mule!





GOOD LUCK! Because last I read, the best odds you have of getting a gaited mule are 50/50. That's why they're working hard to figure out how to have better odds of that gait gene passing down. I wish them the best of luck - I'd love to have one myself.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Yeah, I have friends with TWH/SSH's and they breed a few mares every year for gaited mules. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Still, even a non-gaited mule is worth some money, especially with spots. A nice-temperamented mule from a good mare is an animal in demand far more than horses. Their non-gaited mules always sell very easily as weanlings. The gaited ones are held onto, started under saddle, and sold for big money.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Oh I wish - I reckon when god created horses, she painted the good ones... and stretched the ears on the best! Mules are quite rare over here, but I've always wanted one.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> It's like body roll in a car.
> 
> 
> These horses, apparently, have a lot of easy rocking motion, in any gait, very little body roll.
> ...


I think there were always gaited mules. You can't really "develop" mules can you? They are a one-off creation. Anybody who put a gaited mare to a donkey could reasonably hope to get a gaited mule, right? Or is there more to it than I imagine?


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

The Paso and Criollo gaited mules in other parts of the Americas are often stunning animals. Quality through and through.


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