Where did THAT come from?

Wally

Wally

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2000
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When I bought Tór Frá Velli, I bought him because he looked (in the video I bought him from) Like he'd be a nice, easy 4 gaited horse.

Last year he had a nice clear walk and trot. This year we have done little bits in tolt and it's coming along nicely, though trot has become a bit 4 time.
Nothing to worry about, young horse, still growing,

Yesterday we had a bit of a canter and instead of coming back to a trot or tolt, he came back to a very definite pace :eek:
In the lessons we had last week the trainer/judge we had up watched him in several lessons I had and asked me whether he was4 or 5 gaited, I said 4 I HOPED, She thought he was 5 gaited....she's right it seems. And I wanted a nice uncomplicated 4 gaited horse, Ho hum,
 
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I know nothing about gaited horses. Is 5 gaited undesirable, or is it just that there's even more to train?
 
No it's more desirable, but can make them more complicated to train, they can be very stiff and the pacy can creep into the other gaits and "taint" them, I have had so many 5 gaited horses to work with over the years, I was hoping this chap would be a nice, uncomplicated 4 gaited horse with only tolt and trot to worry about....ho hum, it's just me being bone idle.
 
Well at least, from everything you've always said about him, he's a very nice lad. That, to me, is one of the most important things. You've done it before, you can do it again :)
 
carthorse said:
Well at least, from everything you've always said about him, he's a very nice lad. That, to me, is one of the most important things. You've done it before, you can do it again :)
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He is, he's the kindest, most willing yet laid back clown of a horse. Reminds me very much of my old Haflinger. Safe as houses, (even at his tender years) but a wicked sense of fun and enough cheek to make you laugh.
 
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I had wrongly thought that, if you want a Tolt from your horse, Wally, you wouldnt want a pacer.
But you are the right person Wally to use his gifts.
In Tudor England pacing was apparently desirable - Horses who did not pace at the time they were first broken to saddle, might be sent away to specialist trainers for a further stage in their education to be taught to pace. The methods used were probably unkind and not always successful. It became compulsory for English horses to trot (news to me today) and people fancied Arab stock and the whole gaited thing died out.
 
5 gaited horses are more prized because they have the extra racing gait, and that's all it is , a racing, speed gait. Sadly some pace horses can get to prefer the lateral pace too much and they can become stiff and difficult to get out of pacing.

But every Icelandic horses is different, COMPLETELY different from one another, some prefer a good clean tolt and you might never find a trot, Some trot and will never tolt unless trained really consistently, (like getting a canter pirouette from an ordinary horse) Some spend their lives piggy pacing. Tór, at them moment is trotting through preference, doing very small amounts of tolt, which is easy to find, He's rolling in front with his canter and trotting behind, But it's going to be easy to get him to level up as he's so able to "sit down,"
Hoever this year his massive two time trot has become a bit 4 beat, only because he's found his tolt, It will all clean up as he gets stronger. Plenty time, no rush. He has to last me a long time, not going to fry his little brain.
 
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