How Hills Affect Your Gaited Horse
By Gaye DeRusso
If you have had gaited horses before, then you probably already know this information, even if you have not really thought about it, but if you are new to gaited horses this may surprise you. Just like terrain affects your gaited horse's gait, so do hills.
Some horses are naturally very balanced, and hills do not affect them much. They collect themselves going up or downhill. Just know you are lucky, because most horses do not, and this affects their gait.
When your horse goes up a hill, it puts more weight on its backend, which naturally collects the horse. The horse then tries to push with hindquarters, therefore engaging himself. By doing so, it rounds your horses back. This in turn makes your horse go more toward the trotty side of the gaited spectrum.
So, when going up a hill, a pacey horse will become smoother and go more toward a flat walk or a running walk or saddle gait. A trotty horse will become more trotty and go more toward a fox trot or a hard trot.
So how do you help them keep their gait? With the pacey horse, you want to get in your forward riding position, lighten your seat and encourage him to reach under himself. Help him to engage his backend, and round his back, by keeping his head low and half halting to keep him balanced
With the trotty horse, the hill is already trying to round and engage your horse. So, you want to sit more in your chair seat position, bring the horses head up. If the hill is steep, then you will have to lean more forward to help him up the hill. Since you know this will make him more trotty, stay at a slower speed to avoid the trot or let him canter up the hill.
When going down hills, the horse may hollow out, and puts more weight on its front end. The horse may tense up its back and its neck, which will make the horse go more toward the pacey side of the gaited spectrum. So, if your horse tends to pace, going downhill will make him pace more, whereas a trotty horse will go more lateral and it will help its gait.
To help the pacey horse get downhill, you want to sit straight, you can put your weight back slightly, but do not lean back too far. If you lean back too far, by tilted your pelvis back you will drive your seat toward his spine, which can make him invert his back, which will make him go more toward the pace. So, think of how a tree grows on a hillside and try to imitate the position to help him not pace.
If you get into too much of a chair seat it can make it hard for the horse to use his back and get underneath himself. Instead, he may hollow his back and get pacey. You can try lightening your seat by standing just slightly in your stirrups, which can allow him to use his back and shift his weight on his hindquarters. Try and stay very slow, by using your half halts every step to balance him on his hindquarters. if you go faster, he is more likely to pace.
With the trotty horse, you can stay in more of a chair seat, as this position and the hill may cause him to tense up his back and neck and go toward the lateral side of the gait. If not too steep you can go down the hill with a little more speed and this can help him smooth out a fox trot or go more lateral toward a saddle gait or running walk. You still may need your half halts to balance him and control his speed, otherwise many will just keep picking up speed, which can be dangerous downhill.
Also, know that it is hard to rack up steep hills because the horse needs a certain amount of tension in his back and neck to rack, that is why you usually don't see them videotaping racking horses on anything but flat or slight incline or decline.
So, know that hills will affect your horse's gait, it will be hard to keep a perfect gait at all times if you're a trail rider. It is better that the horse gets you up and downhills safely then stay in the perfect gait.
But now you understand why your horse's gait changes with hills and you have some tips to help you and your horse!
By Gaye DeRusso
If you have had gaited horses before, then you probably already know this information, even if you have not really thought about it, but if you are new to gaited horses this may surprise you. Just like terrain affects your gaited horse's gait, so do hills.
Some horses are naturally very balanced, and hills do not affect them much. They collect themselves going up or downhill. Just know you are lucky, because most horses do not, and this affects their gait.
When your horse goes up a hill, it puts more weight on its backend, which naturally collects the horse. The horse then tries to push with hindquarters, therefore engaging himself. By doing so, it rounds your horses back. This in turn makes your horse go more toward the trotty side of the gaited spectrum.
So, when going up a hill, a pacey horse will become smoother and go more toward a flat walk or a running walk or saddle gait. A trotty horse will become more trotty and go more toward a fox trot or a hard trot.
So how do you help them keep their gait? With the pacey horse, you want to get in your forward riding position, lighten your seat and encourage him to reach under himself. Help him to engage his backend, and round his back, by keeping his head low and half halting to keep him balanced
With the trotty horse, the hill is already trying to round and engage your horse. So, you want to sit more in your chair seat position, bring the horses head up. If the hill is steep, then you will have to lean more forward to help him up the hill. Since you know this will make him more trotty, stay at a slower speed to avoid the trot or let him canter up the hill.
When going down hills, the horse may hollow out, and puts more weight on its front end. The horse may tense up its back and its neck, which will make the horse go more toward the pacey side of the gaited spectrum. So, if your horse tends to pace, going downhill will make him pace more, whereas a trotty horse will go more lateral and it will help its gait.
To help the pacey horse get downhill, you want to sit straight, you can put your weight back slightly, but do not lean back too far. If you lean back too far, by tilted your pelvis back you will drive your seat toward his spine, which can make him invert his back, which will make him go more toward the pace. So, think of how a tree grows on a hillside and try to imitate the position to help him not pace.
If you get into too much of a chair seat it can make it hard for the horse to use his back and get underneath himself. Instead, he may hollow his back and get pacey. You can try lightening your seat by standing just slightly in your stirrups, which can allow him to use his back and shift his weight on his hindquarters. Try and stay very slow, by using your half halts every step to balance him on his hindquarters. if you go faster, he is more likely to pace.
With the trotty horse, you can stay in more of a chair seat, as this position and the hill may cause him to tense up his back and neck and go toward the lateral side of the gait. If not too steep you can go down the hill with a little more speed and this can help him smooth out a fox trot or go more lateral toward a saddle gait or running walk. You still may need your half halts to balance him and control his speed, otherwise many will just keep picking up speed, which can be dangerous downhill.
Also, know that it is hard to rack up steep hills because the horse needs a certain amount of tension in his back and neck to rack, that is why you usually don't see them videotaping racking horses on anything but flat or slight incline or decline.
So, know that hills will affect your horse's gait, it will be hard to keep a perfect gait at all times if you're a trail rider. It is better that the horse gets you up and downhills safely then stay in the perfect gait.
But now you understand why your horse's gait changes with hills and you have some tips to help you and your horse!