Does Your Horse Gait Better On Trail vs The Arena?
By Gaye DeRusso
Many gaited horses have been saddle trained and then just ridden on the trail. So, this is where they learned to gait. The riders and some trainers do not spend the time in the arena, so all the training has been on the trail.
The horse gets use to the footing and terrain and learns how to gait on the trail. But if you take these horses and then bring them in the arena, they have no clue how to gait in the arena footing. So many of these horses that gait nicely on the trail, now start to pace, or trot in the arena. It is not that the horse is trying to be bad, or that he doesn't have the talent, he just does not know how.
Many of these horses you will have to start their training over in the arena and start with a slow walk and get them use to the footing. Once they can do a slow walk and have a correct 4 beat footfall and can stay in a consistent speed, then over time you can try to start their flat walk. They will have to be relaxed through their neck and back to do the flat walk well. You will most likely have to keep more contact on the horse as you start their flat walk and help them to learn to carry themselves in this footing. In the beginning you may have to half halt every step or every couple of steps, but you have to do whatever your horse needs to keep them in gait.
Even if they are forward on the trail they may have to be pushed with more leg and seat in the arena, because it is more work for the horse and it can also be boring to them, so they start to get lazy. If they are slow, you may have to wear spurs or carry a dressage whip to keep them going forward. You may have to push them with your leg every couple of steps, so they keep the same speed, as the horse does not understand what you want since they have not been worked in an arena before.
If the horse gets pacey in the arena, you may have to bring its head down and get it to round its back and lift with its abdomen. You may have to tilt forward in the saddle to get more weight on the horses front end and allow it to use its back more. You may have to put lots of poles out to help separate his legs. You may have to make circles, and serpentines and leg yield to help separate their legs, to keep them out of the pace. You may have to go a lot slower than you do on trail.
If the horse gets trotty, you may have to keep that horse's head higher then you do on the trail. You may need to shift your weight back more to help him stay out of the trot. You may have to half halt every step to tell him not to trot and you may have to go much slower than you do on the trail. You may have to avoid lateral movements such as circles and serpentines and leg yields in the beginning as they will make him go more toward a trot.
So even though your horse is well gaited on the trail, he needs more help in the arena, because he does not know how to hold his gait in the arena. It is not his fault. He just has lack of training in there and needs your help to learn how. And you must stay slow till he keeps a clean 4 beat footfall and stays smooth before you can go faster. It is work and can be frustrating but will make your horse a much better horse by teaching him to gait in there.
The show horses gait very well in the arena because they are trained in the arena first then on trail. The trainers work on their gaits usually 5 days a week for an hour at a time. They do this for years, so the horses learn how to gait well in the arena (if they do it naturally without heavy shoes and long toes). These horses when you go out on trail may not be use to the stimulus and may have to learn how to deal with the different terrain and obstacles, but they will usually gait very well on the trail. They gait very well because that's all they were taught for years and now they are conditioned to gait and can usually gait on a looser rein because they can hold the gait on their own which is called self-carriage.
So, if you are buying a horse, I always tell people ride it where you will be riding the most. If you're going to do all arena riding and you get one that only gaits well on the trail, you are going to have to help the horse in the arena and may get very frustrated. If you will only ride the trail, then take that horse on the trail and make sure it gaits well out there and can handle all the terrain you will be riding on.
I love riding horses that have had many years of gait training in the arena. They are easier to ride because someone took the time to teach them vs the ones that have just been run down the trail without much guidance. They have built up the muscle to hold the gait and know how to use their bodies well to stay in the gait.
Every horse can learn, it just takes time and patience. So, you are not alone, if your horse only gaits on the trail. Just realize he was not taught how to gait in the arena and may lack a lot of basic arena work. The only way to make him better is to teach him.
By Gaye DeRusso
Many gaited horses have been saddle trained and then just ridden on the trail. So, this is where they learned to gait. The riders and some trainers do not spend the time in the arena, so all the training has been on the trail.
The horse gets use to the footing and terrain and learns how to gait on the trail. But if you take these horses and then bring them in the arena, they have no clue how to gait in the arena footing. So many of these horses that gait nicely on the trail, now start to pace, or trot in the arena. It is not that the horse is trying to be bad, or that he doesn't have the talent, he just does not know how.
Many of these horses you will have to start their training over in the arena and start with a slow walk and get them use to the footing. Once they can do a slow walk and have a correct 4 beat footfall and can stay in a consistent speed, then over time you can try to start their flat walk. They will have to be relaxed through their neck and back to do the flat walk well. You will most likely have to keep more contact on the horse as you start their flat walk and help them to learn to carry themselves in this footing. In the beginning you may have to half halt every step or every couple of steps, but you have to do whatever your horse needs to keep them in gait.
Even if they are forward on the trail they may have to be pushed with more leg and seat in the arena, because it is more work for the horse and it can also be boring to them, so they start to get lazy. If they are slow, you may have to wear spurs or carry a dressage whip to keep them going forward. You may have to push them with your leg every couple of steps, so they keep the same speed, as the horse does not understand what you want since they have not been worked in an arena before.
If the horse gets pacey in the arena, you may have to bring its head down and get it to round its back and lift with its abdomen. You may have to tilt forward in the saddle to get more weight on the horses front end and allow it to use its back more. You may have to put lots of poles out to help separate his legs. You may have to make circles, and serpentines and leg yield to help separate their legs, to keep them out of the pace. You may have to go a lot slower than you do on trail.
If the horse gets trotty, you may have to keep that horse's head higher then you do on the trail. You may need to shift your weight back more to help him stay out of the trot. You may have to half halt every step to tell him not to trot and you may have to go much slower than you do on the trail. You may have to avoid lateral movements such as circles and serpentines and leg yields in the beginning as they will make him go more toward a trot.
So even though your horse is well gaited on the trail, he needs more help in the arena, because he does not know how to hold his gait in the arena. It is not his fault. He just has lack of training in there and needs your help to learn how. And you must stay slow till he keeps a clean 4 beat footfall and stays smooth before you can go faster. It is work and can be frustrating but will make your horse a much better horse by teaching him to gait in there.
The show horses gait very well in the arena because they are trained in the arena first then on trail. The trainers work on their gaits usually 5 days a week for an hour at a time. They do this for years, so the horses learn how to gait well in the arena (if they do it naturally without heavy shoes and long toes). These horses when you go out on trail may not be use to the stimulus and may have to learn how to deal with the different terrain and obstacles, but they will usually gait very well on the trail. They gait very well because that's all they were taught for years and now they are conditioned to gait and can usually gait on a looser rein because they can hold the gait on their own which is called self-carriage.
So, if you are buying a horse, I always tell people ride it where you will be riding the most. If you're going to do all arena riding and you get one that only gaits well on the trail, you are going to have to help the horse in the arena and may get very frustrated. If you will only ride the trail, then take that horse on the trail and make sure it gaits well out there and can handle all the terrain you will be riding on.
I love riding horses that have had many years of gait training in the arena. They are easier to ride because someone took the time to teach them vs the ones that have just been run down the trail without much guidance. They have built up the muscle to hold the gait and know how to use their bodies well to stay in the gait.
Every horse can learn, it just takes time and patience. So, you are not alone, if your horse only gaits on the trail. Just realize he was not taught how to gait in the arena and may lack a lot of basic arena work. The only way to make him better is to teach him.