What does gaited mean?
- Thread starter michie
- Start date
gaited horses have different gaits than "regular" horses... hang on and I'll explain better
"regular" horses have "hard" gaits- walk, trot, canter. But there are other gaits called "soft" gaits, these are what are called "gaited". Soft gaits include running walk, pace, foxtrot, rack, etc, etc. There are actually a LOT of different type gaits. Some come naturally through breeding, and others come through training.
Here are some videos:
Rack: http://www.american-saddlebred.com/gaits/videos/RACK.AVI
Running Walk: http://www.howetheywalk.com/images/The Running Walk.wmv
foxtrot: http://www.foxtrotexas.com/Foxtrot.AVI
"regular" horses have "hard" gaits- walk, trot, canter. But there are other gaits called "soft" gaits, these are what are called "gaited". Soft gaits include running walk, pace, foxtrot, rack, etc, etc. There are actually a LOT of different type gaits. Some come naturally through breeding, and others come through training.
Here are some videos:
Rack: http://www.american-saddlebred.com/gaits/videos/RACK.AVI
Running Walk: http://www.howetheywalk.com/images/The Running Walk.wmv
foxtrot: http://www.foxtrotexas.com/Foxtrot.AVI
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oh wow! thanks soooo much for the information. i had no idea that horses had other gaits than walk/trot/canter/gallop. 
Tölt is one of the gaits, flying pace is the other that some can do.
Tölt is like a walk, back foot, then front foot one side, then the other side move. In walk though you have 3 feet on the floor at one time, in Tölt only one foot is on the floor at any one time.
Tölt is like a walk, back foot, then front foot one side, then the other side move. In walk though you have 3 feet on the floor at one time, in Tölt only one foot is on the floor at any one time.
and paso fino's are another gaited breed. differant then the others.
it has three varietions of the gait i guess you could say.known as the
paso
corto
largo
or at least i think so, i havn't used the terms in forever
basically they are differant speeds, yet still smooth as butter, you dont bounce at all, its like gliding. the largo i believe can get quite fast in a well bred/trained paso, 25mph. I have riden many rescue pasos and some top show pasos and although the well breed ones are a bit fancy i guess you could say, even the rescues with no professional training are just as smooth as the showy ones. its natural, no need to train them...they can be refined through training but the gait itsself is all natural
it has three varietions of the gait i guess you could say.known as the
paso
corto
largo
or at least i think so, i havn't used the terms in forever
basically they are differant speeds, yet still smooth as butter, you dont bounce at all, its like gliding. the largo i believe can get quite fast in a well bred/trained paso, 25mph. I have riden many rescue pasos and some top show pasos and although the well breed ones are a bit fancy i guess you could say, even the rescues with no professional training are just as smooth as the showy ones. its natural, no need to train them...they can be refined through training but the gait itsself is all natural
There is nothing like watching a champagne ride!! Paso's flying around while thier riders carry champagne glasses sooo cool!
and if you EVER get the chance to ride an Icelandic - TAKE IT!! The Tolt is undescribable!
Oh and a walking horse..LOL
I think I have gaited horse envy.... then again people who sit Splash's trot.. never want to go back...
and if you EVER get the chance to ride an Icelandic - TAKE IT!! The Tolt is undescribable!
Oh and a walking horse..LOL
I think I have gaited horse envy.... then again people who sit Splash's trot.. never want to go back...
for paso finos it is
Fino- very quick, small steps- on a tightly gaited fino horse, to get across the yard can take a good ten minutes...its what my paso did today when he was a bit nervy in the trailer with the back coming up, but didnt want to barge me out of the way to run off...basically just gaited on the spot!
Corto- moderate speed and moderate ground coverage...about the speed of an average trot
Largo- medium speed and more extension than a corto...about the speed of an extented trot or in some cases, a canter
all these are a type of running walk with exactly the same footfall, just at different speeds and with different ground coverage.
they can also surprise you by throwing in the odd trot (most can do both)
and nearly all can canter. all can gallop, it is the same lateral type of gait.
also many youngsters begin their ridden careers 'trotcha'- a 4 beat gait with the footfall of a trot...slightly more comfortable though!
the movement is less extravagant than the icelandic tölt- there is a lower knee action and more hock action.
with regards to it being natural...well natural in most cases, for example all i have met prefer to trot through mud (more stability maybe?) and many will only gait if you are in a certain position in the saddle...but i suppose that must be training
Fino- very quick, small steps- on a tightly gaited fino horse, to get across the yard can take a good ten minutes...its what my paso did today when he was a bit nervy in the trailer with the back coming up, but didnt want to barge me out of the way to run off...basically just gaited on the spot!
Corto- moderate speed and moderate ground coverage...about the speed of an average trot
Largo- medium speed and more extension than a corto...about the speed of an extented trot or in some cases, a canter
all these are a type of running walk with exactly the same footfall, just at different speeds and with different ground coverage.
they can also surprise you by throwing in the odd trot (most can do both)
and nearly all can canter. all can gallop, it is the same lateral type of gait.
also many youngsters begin their ridden careers 'trotcha'- a 4 beat gait with the footfall of a trot...slightly more comfortable though!
the movement is less extravagant than the icelandic tölt- there is a lower knee action and more hock action.
with regards to it being natural...well natural in most cases, for example all i have met prefer to trot through mud (more stability maybe?) and many will only gait if you are in a certain position in the saddle...but i suppose that must be training
We teach tölty Icelandics to trot in deep going, they will tend to trot in deep grass, or dry sand or mud, rather than tölt. this helps them get the idea of trot into their head, then once on the flat you can ask for trot and stand more chance of them understanding.
I'm rather impressed with everyone's knowledge of gaited horses-- I train gaited horses, and most people who ride non-gaited are always like "you ride a what?"
Actually... a Pace is a hard-gait-- have you ever ridden a pacey horse? It's horribly uncomfortable. Most people who get pacey horses (usually standardbreds, or otherwise gaited horses who've gone a bit south with their rack or foxtrot) will weight their front-feet (with weighted bell-boots or calf weights, occasionally leather lined chains-- never ever with chains that can touch the horses legs under any circumstances!!) This causes the horses to pick up their front legs slightly slower, which seperates the lateral hind and fore footsteps into two different beats. Once the horse is squarely doing that... you have a manufactured rack.
A standardbred is technically a gaited horse, because his gaits are different-- but you'll hardly ever see a pacer out on the trail or being ridden really anywhere.
Lindsayanne said:
Actually... a Pace is a hard-gait-- have you ever ridden a pacey horse? It's horribly uncomfortable. Most people who get pacey horses (usually standardbreds, or otherwise gaited horses who've gone a bit south with their rack or foxtrot) will weight their front-feet (with weighted bell-boots or calf weights, occasionally leather lined chains-- never ever with chains that can touch the horses legs under any circumstances!!) This causes the horses to pick up their front legs slightly slower, which seperates the lateral hind and fore footsteps into two different beats. Once the horse is squarely doing that... you have a manufactured rack.
A standardbred is technically a gaited horse, because his gaits are different-- but you'll hardly ever see a pacer out on the trail or being ridden really anywhere.
shoniedaspony- that is interesting, I have ridden and worked with many a paso fino's and never seen one trot before.
.....the pace.... it is the most uncomfortable thing ever. my moms mare is a stb and although she usually trots, she has a tendancy to pace once in a while, i just get up into 2-point if i want to keep going or i bring her right back and try another transition to see if i can get a trot.
.....the pace.... it is the most uncomfortable thing ever. my moms mare is a stb and although she usually trots, she has a tendancy to pace once in a while, i just get up into 2-point if i want to keep going or i bring her right back and try another transition to see if i can get a trot.
im disappointed to find many pasos i have ridden recently at different breeders in england have a tendency to trot, and will only gait if you completely change your seat and way of riding...as an english rider going into pasos, its a mammoth task- i have the feeling their have saddles put me into more of a driving seat than i have in my saddle, on my paso...well he pretty much always gaits anyway! if anybody is interested in trying out a paso fino as a different experience PM me...visitors always welcome!
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