By Gaye DeRusso
 
Tennessee Walking Horses are great horses but some of them are too calm. Yes, I said it too calm. If you are not entertaining them with something to do, or gaiting, they seem to just fall asleep on their feet.  I am not talking about stopping and falling asleep. I am talking about walking and falling asleep. You might be thinking, what?
 
Exactly, but I have trained so many over the years, show horses and trail horses and some due to their breeding, are just too calm. With these horses you have to constantly give them jobs and help them stay awake, because a horse that is bred to slide its feet forward and then also does not pay attention, can be a tripping disaster. 
 
These horses when riding on trail, you need to keep the rein short enough that you can keep their heads up, do not let them put their heads lower than their chest.  If you let them put their head down to their knees, you're setting yourself up to have them fall down if they trip, because all their weight is on their front end. This does not mean you can't let them put their head down to look at something, you can, but then shorten back up. This means do not ride with long loose reins. 
 
Also, because they are so calm when they trip, they usually fall down on their knees, they don't jump up like regular horses. Some trip, fall down, lay there, and hang out, others start eating. Everyone thinks something is wrong with them because what horse would do this. Well, a Walking Horse will. Some don't even care if all the other horses leave, they will still just lay there. 
 
I still love all these horses; you just have to know how to deal with them and not fall asleep yourself. When on the trail every 5 minutes or so depending on the calmness of the horse, give him a job. Leg yield, serpentine, shoulder, or hindquarters in, stop and back up, make a circle, go over logs, go over rocks. Keep giving them things to do. Gait and make them do it with engagement and some energy, not a sloppy gait with all their weight on their front end.
 
When you see roots or rocks on the trail, make sure they are awake. Tap with your stick or hit them with your spurs, you may feel bad, but you will feel worse if they fall down.
 
If they do trip, you need to yank their head up and hold so they have something to push against.  Lean your weight back as far as you can, on their hindquarters would be great and spur or hit them with the stick to scare them some so they jump up. If you don't, they may fall down and then will just lay there smelling the daisies. 
 
If you're going to not pay attention, be a passenger and ride with long loose reins with the horse's head down by their knees, do not get one of these horses, they are not for you. They are great horses but need to be managed correctly to be good trail horses.  
 
I have seen these horses labeled as trippers and some put down. Sad, very sad as they are put down because they are too calm and guess what, we did that. We bred them too calm and now people are putting them down, because the owners and the vets working them up do not understand these horses.  
 
So, know if you have one of these horses, it probably does not have a neurologic problem or EPM, it has a rider problem and if you're not willing to ride it correctly, please do not put it down, just sell it to someone who understands the issue and is willing to be an active rider.  
 
Please share this article, everywhere you can, as it may save some horses. Any horse can be too calm, I even know of a fox trotter that was too calm and was put down. I would have stopped it but didn't find out until after it happen. But that is why I made all the neurologic videos on YouTube.  Some good came of it by saving other horses but at that horse's expense. He was one of the best horses I have ever trained, never spooked at a thing, who would have thought not spooking was a bad thing. Still makes me cry. 

​
By Gaye DeRusso
 
Yes.
 
 But each horse and each breed are different. I have found over the years that I have been training gaited horses, that the Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH) has the hardest time bucking.  But it depends on the TWH backend. Those that tend to overreach a fair amount and are shaped lankier and may have pointier hindquarters seem to not be able to buck as much or as hard as the more normal looking gaited horse. Also, the ones that are pacey seem to not buck as well as the ones on the trotty side. 
 
They still seem to be able to rear up just fine, but the bucking they seem more spastic at. They can still crow hop but it is usually not very high. 
 
I have found that the Rockies, Kentucky Mountain and Fox Trotters and Icelandic's which look more like a traditional trotty horse can buck higher and harder than the TWH. Why? Because they are built like regular horses, so it is easier for them to buck, and crow hop vs the TWH. 
 
When you are going to buy a horse, it is a good thing to watch them run loose, especially if you are older and you want to get a younger horse. Watch that horse run and see what it does. If it can leap and buck and gets way high up in the air, well that's what it can do with you on it. If it does not buck or when it does, it looks awkward and not much height, then when you ride it that is usually the worse, they can do. 
 
Same with rearing, if it rears up when loose like the lone ranger's horse, Hi Ho Silver, that's what it can do under saddle. But if the horse just runs around and doesn't buck or rear then usually it will not try to under saddle. 
 
Knowing what your horse can do when loose can help you prepare it for under saddle. Many calm gaited horses will come out of the pasture or stall and be very mellow or lazy, but if something sets them off, they can leap like there's no tomorrow and that's what you want to get rid of before you get on. 
 
Some horses, if you lunge them, they will not move, you have to be very aggressive and stern to get them going. If you can't make them move, on the lunge, then best to run them loose. If they won't run alone, put another horse in there to get them going and get the bucks out of them. Some won't move for the first couple minutes; these are the fakers which fool a lot of people but then they get going and they are explosive. That is what many people miss, they give up, so the horse never gets it out until something sets them off and then they go into a bucking fit. 
 
Young horses and more normal looking horses buck harder, higher, and faster than older horses or horses that look like they have a funny looking backend. So, if you have one, make sure to get it out before you get on. 
 
It is normal for horses to buck, they do it when they are excited, they do it to lighten their weight if they feel threaten from a predator or feel like they are being left by the herd of horses aka your trail riding partners. Running them around and making sure all the bucks are gone can help a lot if something sets your horse off. It still may buck but at least it may not buck as hard, or as high or as many bucks.  
 
So just know if you have a gaited horse, yes it can still buck and rear and you should know how to prevent it and what to do if you didn't get to prevent it. 
 
Always try to run it around or lunge before you ride to make sure they are not feeling spunky.
 
When riding, if your horse bucks, you need to lean back like you see the rodeo riders do. Lean your upper body back as far as you can, think of leaning back onto their hindquarters, then try to get the horses head up toward the sky. They cannot buck or crow hop usually with their head up. Once you get their head up you can disengage their hindquarters by turning their head toward your knee and using your leg to push their hindquarter around. That way they cannot get the power to usually buck again. Then you can decide to jump off, or face what they were bucking from. 
 
If the horse is trying to rear, disengage its hindquarters as above. It cannot rear if it cannot plant its feet in one spot and it cannot do that if you are spinning his hindquarters around. If you missed preventing it, then lean forward and grab mane high up the neck toward the ears or wrap your arms around its neck and keep all your weight as forward as you can, think of leaning on its neck, till it comes back down and then disengage its hindquarters to prevent it from going back up.
 
More people have flipped over horses by accident by throwing them off balance. When the horse rears they lose balance and pull on the rein which immediately makes the horse loose balance and flips over.  
 
So even if your horse has not reared or bucked, does not mean they never will.  The more prepared you are the safer you are. So, practice what to do and make sure you can disengage your horse's hindquarters very well, practice it daily so you and the horse both have it down. 
 
The more you know how to prevent rearing and bucking the better, but you still need to know the right thing to do if it happens. Never practicing what to do and not preparing your horse by letting him run ahead of your ride, only puts you more at risk of it happening. 

By Gaye DeRusso

First of all, why won’t some riders wear a helmet? 

Some people want to feel the wind in their hair, others say the helmet is too hot, or it will ruin my hairstyle. The helmet gives me a headache. Western riders do not need helmets. My horse is safe. The excuses run wild with what they come up with. I even know people who have had a head injury from riding and still do not wear a helmet. I just do not understand why they would take the chance. 

 Horseback riding is an extremely dangerous sport. No matter if you are a beginner or you’re an advanced rider or even an instructor. Riding is Dangerous. 

Why are horses dangerous? 

Horses can be spooky, unpredictable, they react to stimulus- pretty much anything that moves or makes a noise can scare your horse. No matter how good your horse is, someday someone may spook it, or it could trip or have a heart attack and fall over. 
A fall from a height is a much bigger trauma then falling off your bike, but most of us wear bike helmets now, because it only takes one fall to ruin your life and your family's life.  Yet many of you choose not to wear a riding helmet on your horse. 

So let me tell you why I wear a helmet. Everyone seems aware of football head injuries and CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), but did you know the sport that causes the most head injuries is not football, it’s horseback riding.  Also, you do not need multiple head injuries to get CTE. Since a fall from riding is from a height, one bad fall can cause a major injury to your brain. Riding is the highest cause of traumatic brain injuries in ADULTS. It is even higher than motorcycle riding. Yes, riding is more dangerous than being on a motorcycle if you are not going to wear a helmet. 

According to the Equestrian Medical Safety Association, head injuries account for an estimated 60 percent of deaths resulting from equestrian accidents. 

 If riders in the arena wear helmets, why don’t trail riders wear helmets? 

Trail riding can be much more dangerous than arena riding, but many trail riders do not wear helmets.  Things and people jump out on the trail, bikes come flying down the trail, dogs chase us, cows can come running in groups to scare our horses, trees fall down, there are so many scary things and no fences to keep us in and no soft dirt to break our fall. You might think your horse is super safe, but even if he never spooks, he can trip or step in a hole and fall. You can fall off and hit your head on the ground or a rock in seconds. 

I wear my helmet because I want to ride my horse safely for as many years as possible.  I also want to be a good example for my students. I wear it in the arena, and I wear it on the trail, sometimes I just wear it around horses in case they kick on the ground, so I do not get kicked in the head. I do not want a brain injury and I do not want to get CTE. I do not want to ruin my life or the people who would have to take of me if I did get CTE. 

If the helmet fits you well, you will not get a headache, but a headache is better than a head trauma any day.  I would rather ruin my hairstyle then have blood inside my brain. If you get a helmet with ventilation, you will not get that hot, but I would rather get a little hot then have the symptoms of CTE. Common symptoms of CTE including memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, suicidality, parkinsonism, and eventually progressive dementia.
You cannot react quick enough when falling to prevent your head from hitting the ground, if you could, there would not be so many deaths from head injuries due to horseback riding. Years of riding cannot prevent a head injury.  Just ask your friendly neurosurgeon how many head injuries he or she sees from horseback riding accidents if you do not believe me. 
 
Your helmet will not only protect your brain, but also can provide shade from the sun and looks 
 
great in pictures if you decorate it. There are now, nice western helmets and brims to put on your 
 
helmet. Ignore people if they make fun of you for wearing it. In time they will usually change their 
 
mind. Maybe after they don't duck enough under a tree and hit their head. You don't have to fall off 
 
to be thankful you are wearing a helmet. 
 
 
If you have any stories about how your helmet helped save you, please feel free to share below. 

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By Gaye DeRusso
 
 
The quick answer is two. Riding gaited horses and having them gait well with one hand is much harder, but maybe you are lucky, and you have one that was bred and trained well and will stay in gait with two hands or one. 
 
The gaited horse has more gears than the normal trotting horse.  To keep them in their gait, we use a fair amount of half halts or what some people call checking their horse back. As the terrain changes on the trails affect their gait, we use the half halt to help the horse rebalance and stay in the present gait. We also use lateral movements to help them get ready to gait and to stay in gait. At times we also need to put their body in a certain frame in order to get a specific gait. All these things can be more difficult with one hand. 
 
I recommend all newbies to gaited horses ride with 2 hands, it is just easier to keep the horse in gait and half halt with 2 hands. Keep the rein short enough the horse will feel the half halt as soon as you do it. Make sure to use a rein that has some weight to it or add clips as it will help the horse feel the half halt and release better and quicker, compared to a light english rein. 
 
I also recommend that you teach your horse steering exercises, (lateral movements) moving his shoulders and his hindquarters and leg yielding with the rider using two hands. Being able to do these movements, can help get your horse back into a nice gait when he starts changing his gait.
 
Once you can ride the horse, be able to do the movements listed above and he stays in gait well, you want to start working on self-carriage. Start trying to half halt less and encourage your horse to keep his gait without as much help from you. Try to only apply contact when you feel him starting to go toward the pace or trot. When he is gaiting well, start giving him some slack in the rein. Make sure he can do this really well before moving on. 
 
Now and only now would be the time to start trying to ride him one handed. You will have to teach him to neck rein first, using two hands. But by the horse already understanding how to move sideways off your leg, it will be much easier to teach. You will guide him with your rein, pressing one rein against his neck, then opening the other rein in the direction you want to go, while also pressing with one leg to move him in that direction. Over time when done correctly, your horse will understand when he feels the rein against his neck that he should move away from it, but your leg should always be there to push him over, in case he gets confused. 
 
Now you can start putting both the reins in one hand. Try the maneuvers I discussed above at the walk first. Once you can do this well, you are ready to start gaiting using one hand. Keep the rein short enough that the horse will feel a half halt as soon as you apply it with one hand and use a bit that will help your horse to feel the half halt with one hand. These are the shank bits or what some call the curb bit. A snaffle is not made to ride one handed and you will have to apply more pressure than if you use a curb bit. 
 
Anytime the horse starts to go out of gait, you will use one hand to half halt and help him to stay in gait. If he still is going out of gait, and getting pacey you can use the leg yield, shoulder in or haunches in, to try to help him get back in gait and try to bring his head down and relax his neck and back.
 
 Do not be afraid to go back to two hands at any time the horse is not getting the message. In time he will learn, and it will get easier, but in the beginning, you may have to help him a lot and keep going from one hand back to two. 
 
If the horse is getting trotty, you need to help him get some tension in his neck and back, which can be harder to do with one hand. So, you may need to switch to two hands, elevate his neck and head and half halt to get him back in gait, then go back to one hand. 
 
Now you may understand, riding a gaited horse with one hand is not so easy. This might be why your horse is having issues. 
 
To ride the gaited horse well one handed, the horse has to be well trained, understand cues, and gait well with some self-carriage.   If they do not, they will usually keep going out of gait, because there is not as much support with one hand vs two hands and your horse is not ready. 
 
Remember when you start driving a car, you always had 2 hands on the wheel. Then as you got better, you probably switched from two hands to one hand at different times. Now you probably use one hand and are texting with the other hand. Not safe but impressive all the same. 
 
Riding the gaited horse is similar, get them good with 2 hands first, then going to 1 hand will not be so hard. 
 
 
 
 
 

The Serpentine, Shoulder and Haunches In
By Gaye DeRusso
 
These are also beneficial movements to teach your horse. They not only help with gait but makes your horse more controllable and more balanced. 
 
Serpentine 
 
There are different sizes of serpentines, most riders in the arena, just make a big 3 loop serpentine from one end to the other. I do that also, but since I am a trail rider, I tend to make my serpentines the same size I can make on a fire trail and I go all the way across the fire trail, from one side to the other. The serpentine is basically bending your horse one way and then the other. The movement is similar to how you see a snake move across the ground. 
 
I like to do this in the center of the arena or on the quarter line. I do this in the beginning to help warm up my horse, get him to relax, be supple and give to the bit with his head, neck, and body. 
 
Start at one end of the arena, aiming toward the opposite end. Start by walking and bending your horse to the right. So right rein against your horse's neck, pulling slightly toward the opposite hip, left rein opened to the side to support the other side of the horse. Right leg digging by the girth at the same time you pull on the rein to get the horse to bend his body around your leg. The left leg should be slightly behind the girth to prevent the hindquarters from drifting to the left. Do this for one to two strides, then straighten the horse and then bend the opposite way. So left rein against the horse's neck, pulling slightly toward the opposite hip. right rein opens up to support the other side of his body. Left leg digs in by the girth when you pull on the left rein, so horse bends his body around your left leg. Right leg goes slightly behind the girth to prevent hindquarter from drifting. 
 
Now if you are confused don't worry, just start basic and then once you get it you can use more aids to help the horse. So, think of it this way, right rein, right leg then left rein and left leg. It will work you just won't be supporting the outside of the horse. But that's ok, just get the idea down and then you can change later once you get it. 
 
The serpentine is helpful for pacey horses as you keep separating their legs, also gives your horse something to focus on if they are getting antsy or fast or barn sour. 
 
Moving the Shoulders 
 
This is very helpful to do with pacey horses, just by moving their shoulders over you can go from a pace to a gait in some horses. Works great for most Rockies and horses that do a saddle gait. 
 
The easiest way is to do it with your leg yield. So instead of having the horse move forward and sideways and forward. You will ask the horse just to move the shoulders over, then go forward then move the shoulders over. 
 
Go down the quarter line to the left. Once the horse is straight, bring your left rein slightly toward your right hip. Open your right rein toward the rail. With your left leg at the girth not behind it like in the leg yield, so left leg at the girth, press and ask your horse to move his shoulders toward the rail for one stride, then straighten him out, by pressing with your right rein against his neck and your right leg, for one step then repeat. When you get to the rail, your horse's shoulders should get there before the rest of his body if you do it right. 
 
Shoulder In is a harder movement to try. It is a movement they call two tracking because your horse's shoulders will come to the inside of the rail while his hindquarters stay on the rail. So, you will be going slightly sideways as you go down the rail. 
 
While walking around a corner in the arena that  goes down the long side of arena, look toward the opposite corner, turn your shoulders slightly to the inside. Bend your horse around the corner using your left rein against the horse's neck toward your opposite hip, dig lightly with your left leg so your horse bends around it, open your right rein to support his right side. Then press with your right leg slightly behind the girth to ask him to turn as if you were going to walk diagonally across the arena. 
 
Once he starts to turn, keep him bent but now push with your left leg to ask him to walk slightly to the inside of the rail with his shoulders while keeping his hindquarter on the rail. You may need more pressure on your right rein to help lead him in the direction toward the end of the arena. 
 
It's confusing. So even though you acted like you wanted to walk across the diagonal, once he turns off the rail you want him to stay bending but walk the same direction you were going with his shoulders to the inside of the rail and the hindquarters on the rail. This is hard to do so only try and get one step in the beginning then go straight and just leg yield back to the rail. Next session try for two steps then go straight then leg yield and ask for more steps each time you work on it. I will do this usually 2 -4 times around the arena until I get some good steps, I always do it out of the corner in the beginning because it helps to set you up. 
 
If your horse won't turn to come off the rail, you need to use more right leg. If he comes off but then won't go down the arena, you need to use more left leg. You will need to alternate your legs to help him know what to do. So, use right leg to push off rail, then lighten the right leg and press with the left leg so he goes forward, if his shoulders try and go back to the rail then you   use your right leg and lighten your left leg. It takes a lot of coordination on the rider's part to do this right, so the horse understands. 
 
If it's too hard, just use the moving the shoulders over at the leg yield instead.
 
Haunches In
 
This is also hard, but I do not think as hard as the shoulder in. It will look like your horse is bent to the outside of the arena, the shoulders are on the rail and the hindquarters will come off the rail to the inside of the arena. This is another 2-track exercise.
 
While walking down the rail bend your horse to the outside of the arena. So, if we are going to the left, you will bend your horse to the right. Right rein against his neck slightly toward the opposite hip, left rein open to guide him down the rail so he doesn't turn and walk into the wall. Right leg behind the girth and press till his hindquarter comes off the rail and moves toward the inside of the arena. Left leg is at the girth but not pressing unless he moves his hindquarters too far over that you are going sideways. Remember to alternate your legs so the horse understands. Right leg tells him to move his hindquarters over, left leg tells him to go forward. 
 
Ask for only one good step and once you get it go straight by taking the right leg off and asking to go forward with your left leg and then try on other side of the arena. Each session in the arena try and get one more step then go straight. 
 
If  he won't move his hindquarter over, carry a dressage whip in the hand  next  to the fence (outside)  and give small taps  as you press with the leg  on that side. 
 
Once you can do this well, then try to do it with your horse's head straight instead of turning it toward the wall. I usually do this 2-4 times around the arena, just on the long sides of the arena. 
 
This is also great for breaking up a pace.  But it also gives you control of the horse's hindquarters, so if you are riding and your horse starts to bunch up like he is going to kick out, you can move his hindquarters over so he cannot reach the horse next to you. Same thing if he tries to kick at dogs, or cars etc. Now that you can move his hindquarter, you can move his hindquarters away from the object to keep the object safe.