Each Gaited Horse's Gait, Can Look Different

Each Gaited Horse's Gait, Can Look Different
By Gaye DeRusso
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If you weren't confused before, here's more confusion. Did you know that even if the horses are the same breed and doing the same gait, that it can look different. Yes, that's right, because each horse moves a little differently. 

They may have a longer or shorter stride, they have different conformation which affects how their legs move, so they may pick up their front legs higher or keep them lower to the ground, they may pick up their back feet higher or slide them above the ground,  if they are built upright, they may have a higher head carriage, if they are built downhill they may have a lower head carriage, if they have a long back or a short back the gait will look different, if they use their shoulders more, they may have more head shake in certain gaits, if they have more hock action their tail may bounce up and down more, if they are trotty their legs will look more separated and if they are pacey their legs will look closer together. 
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So, when looking at gait you have to consider how that individual horse moves. A horse on the pacey side will never have the separation of legs like a horse on the trotty side unless you teach it to trot. If you have a horse doing a saddle gait and it’s on the trotty side, at moments it may look more like a fox trot even though it is not. If you have a horse on the pacey side, their fox trot may look more like a saddle gait at times. 
It can be so confusing when you are staring and analyzing what they are doing, or when you are riding and trying to feel what they are doing under neath you. Just know you are not alone; it is confusing for most people. You just try and make the gait the best, but understand why your horse looks different then your friends horse doing the same gait. 

Realize if they are covering more ground, their horse may have a larger stride. If it smoother it may have less action in its legs or come down in its pasterns more, if it trips more it may keep its legs closer to the ground, if it heavy on the front end it may be built downhill, if it is lighter in the front end, it may be built uphill. If it does not have a lot of head shake it may not use its shoulders as well, it doesn't have much tail bounce then it does not have as much hock action. And some horses are just more athletic than others and some just try harder. So much goes into what it looks like. 
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Just realize you can make your horse so much better, but you cannot make it into something it is not. So, understanding that gaited horses look and feel different doing the same gait, will save you a lot of frustration and help you to  be more realistic in your gaited goals!