​Steps To Fix The Pacing Gaited Horse Part 1

​Steps To Fix The Pacing Gaited Horse Part 1
By Gaye DeRusso
 
The pace is a gait most of us do not want under saddle. It is when the gaited horse swings both legs on the same time together then a moment of suspension and then they swing the legs on the other side. It is not a smooth ride and therefore unwanted under saddle. Besides being uncomfortable, it can also make your horse trippy and less surefooted. The pacey horse  will  swing  its legs instead of picking  its  legs up and placing them down,  so easier to catch their toes on obstacles and uneven footing. 
 
 It is bred into many gaited horses to help them gait but  you must teach the horse to gait, by teaching it a new way to  use its body which takes time. Do not worry if they pace when loose or lunging it is natural for them and will not undo what you are teaching them under saddle. 
 
 It takes work to get them to do the gait correctly but worth the work to fix it and not worry about hard pacing again. The horse has to be able to understand how to use its body and what you are asking them to do,  in order to not pace and gait well. Then they have to be conditioned to use the correct muscles, so they do not go back to  pacing once you have corrected it. I call it the right thing to do not the easy thing to do.  Remember that, it will not be easy, but it is the right thing to do, to teach them to gait correctly. 
 
 It is best to start in an arena or flat pasture to be consistent vs trail. Also, you need to establish your walk and then your flat walk first which is just a fast walk before going to faster gaits such as the fox trot, running walk or saddle gait. Otherwise, you will always be chasing the gait. From this day forward when under saddle never, ever, let the horse pace again or it will be confused on what you want and always try to pace because it is easy for them to do so.
 
 So, say it out loud  "from this day forward we will never pace again. " Very good, now I will tell you how, but remember it will not be easy but totally worth the effort and time to get a smooth gait. If this article is too long for you to get through, read parts of it each day. If your unwilling to read it all or break it up and read parts, then fixing the pace will be even harder for you. Using heavy shoes or angles or long feet is what many do to fix the pace but that is the easier way-out vs teaching the horse to correctly use its body to get the gait which takes time and patience. 
 
If you follow this steps consistently and do it correctly, your horse will start gaiting. 
 
First make sure your horse is taught the basics so it will understand your cues when you start to go faster. It needs a foundation to build on. That means teach it how to give to the bit, bend its body around a curve or circle,  serpentine, leg yield, shoulder in and teach a good whoa and back up. Without the horse knowing how to do these things it will be much harder to fix. 
 
Always warm up well, it is helpful to lunge or round pen or run your pacey horse around loose for 5- 10 minutes, otherwise they will be more pacey under saddle because they need to get the tension and excitement out to be able to relax and gait. So, if you don't you are just making it harder for you to correct the horse and will have more frustration. 
 
Ride with their head low, that’s why it is important to teach them to give to the bit first. You usually want their head level or below the front of the saddle or below your belly button. This will help relax their muscles, they need to tense up their muscles  in order to pace. That's why so many throw their heads up and invert their backs, because that makes it easy to pace. 
 
Start in an arena and just walk with their head low, make circles and patterns, the more lateral work you do the less pacey they will be when you go faster. So, a good warm up at the walk with their head low for at least 10 minutes. If they will not walk, you need that to fix that first. So, teach your horse one rein stops or make a small circle every time they speed up until they can consistently do a slow walk. 
 
The gait starts at the walk, without a good walk you won't get a good gait. So, they must be able to do a clear 4 beat walk to get a good gait. If they cannot, walk your horse over poles, the pacier they are the more poles you should use. But lunge them over them  first in case  they trip, once they figure the poles out, which may take a couple weeks, you can start riding them  over them. ( Place poles about 3 feet apart, closer if horse continues to pace like a foot apart)
 
You can use garden timber poles from home depot or a garden store, they are not very expensive, PVC poles do not work, they are too light and break. 
 
If very pacey set your poles up in a 15–20-meter circle and just continue to walk in a circle 5 minutes one way and 5 minutes the other way after you have already warmed them up with your lateral work. Try to use your half halts and leg to keep the horse out of the pace, even if you must do it every step and keep the horse bending around the circle. Any time it paces, stop immediately and back up 5 steps fast and go forward again; to tell the horse, the pace is the wrong answer and will give you more work if you do it again. 
 
Once they can walk over the poles and are no longer pacing at the slow walk, you can begin to ask for more speed. Stay in a circle instead of going straight, the circle is a lateral movement that will help separate your horse's  legs and therefore get the horse away from the pace. It  also teaches the horse how to use its back legs, to step under itself which is called engagement and drive with power. 
 
So, after your good lunging and warm up at the walk, you ride your horse at a walk in your circle with your horse’s head down and ask it for more speed. In your brain think a faster walk not a gait otherwise you will ask for too much. You just want the horse to walk faster without pacing. As you walk faster, if very pacey go over the poles, otherwise if not pacey, you can make your circle around the poles and then aim for poles if it starts to pace. 
 
Keep the horse bent as you walk faster, pressing with one calf and then the other to extend the walk. Use a dressage whip if the horse does not go forward well to encourage the walk and give light taps to reinforce your leg. If the horse tries to raise its head, hold pressure then release when it puts it down. If the horse tries to cut in or out hold it in the circle with your legs and hands. If it starts to go too fast half halt every step or every other step but still pressing with the leg lightly so it does not stop. You will have to practice and figure out how much pressure your horse needs from your hands and your legs to help them gait. 
 
Once it takes a few faster steps, stop and rest and give a good scratch or small treat. Rest for a minute or two and repeat, each time trying to get more good steps. Again, if it immediately paces stay in the circle over the poles. 
 
If it paces a hard pace, then immediately stop and back up 5 steps, no rest and immediately go forward, this tells the horse don't do that or I will make your life harder. Do this every single time it paces. If it does it by a pole, then just go over the pole but in between poles if it paces stop and backup. If the horse is not getting the message, make sure you stop as fast as you can and add more backup steps like 10. But always stop and rest when you get some good fast walking steps and never rest when it paces.
 
If you do this right and do it 3-5 days a week, your horse will be better in 2 weeks. If it is not getting better, you are doing it wrong and need to figure out which step is wrong. An online lesson can help you figure that out, if you want to contact me. 
 
I want you to practice the faster walk aka flat walk, for 5 minutes each direction then quit working on the gait, but you can work on the canter or walk on the trail. Do not, let me repeat, do not go ride fast on the trail and pace. If you let the horse pace at all anymore it will not understand and it will continue to try and pace and not get better. 
 
Once your horse can do a flat walk each direction well, keeping its head low, with you half halting and keeping leg on to keep the correct speed, then walk around the poles and only use the poles when it loses its gait. So before progressing you should be able to flat walk consistently without the poles each direction for 5 minutes. 
 
Once you can do that, then you always do your flat walk first for 10 minutes or more and then try for your next gait which is their intermediate gait.  You will do the same things for the next gait but ask for more speed by using more leg, then lighten the leg to let them know to stay that speed.
 
You must have guidance or good feel to know what the next gait feels like in order to help your horse know what you want. So, a soft bounce up and down for a fox trot, smooth or back and forth for the running walk, or smooth or a wiggle for your saddle gait. You just repeat the same thing going over poles, resting when they get any steps that are close, remember reward the try and to keep going over the poles when pacey and stopping and backing up and immediately going forward when hard pacing. 
 
Start with 3 minutes each direction working up to 5 minutes each direction for their intermediate gait.   When they can do it well start going around the poles but always have the poles in case, they get pacey. When they can do it well without the poles, then you can start trying to go out of your circle and around the arena. Once they can do that, you can start trying to gait on trail. 
 
If you do not have an arena or flat pasture, you can also do this in a round pen. If you only have trail do not fret, just  look for part 2 coming soon for steps to not pacing on the trail.