Do You and Your Gaited Horse Need a Trainer?
By Gaye DeRusso
Gaited horses have become the new hot item because of the increasing age of trail riders. The demand is high, but trained gaited horses, are low in supply.
Many of us grew up with non-gaited horses and most the horses we rode were trained very well. They had good basic training and then the owner usually worked with a trainer for some years before having the horse on their own.
Most horses once they are being ridden under saddle, are taught all the basic cues. How to steer, stop, back up, make circles and patterns, leg yield, turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches, side pass, shoulder in/out and haunches in/out, stand still for mounting and dismounting, stand still on a loose rein and take a break. If the horse is not taught these basic cues, the horse is called green aka not trained.
They are also taught to go at a certain speed when asked, to walk fast or slow, to trot fast or slow and to canter fast or slow. Once they are good at these basics, then they are trained for their career, dressage, jumping, eventing, reining, cow work, western pleasure, trail, etc., which can take many years until they are proficient at the career the owner bought them for. Once they are proficient, they are called a finished horse. If the horse has not had any of this training, they are called green aka not trained.
Training a horse in this manner helps the horses understand what they are supposed to do. That way there is less confusion, and the horses behave well. Also, by training the rider, the rider understands how to give the correct cue to the horse, so they do not get confused.
Ok that was all about non- gaited horses.
Now, onto Gaited horses.
Gaited horses come on the scene and over the past 10 years they have become very popular. Many are smooth and many have calm temperaments. So, beginners and older riders think that this is a good horse to get, smooth and calm, sounds good.
But what the beginners and older riders do not know, is that many gaited horses are green aka not trained. Because they are calm, many sellers take short cuts, and do not train them as I have mentioned above, and because they are smooth many sellers take short cuts on teaching them to gait correctly.
The quicker they get them under saddle and on the trail, the quicker they can sell them. That means less work and time spent for the seller and more money to make.
So, the gaited horse you are having issues with, is most likely untrained and has no idea what is suppose to do. It also has no reason to try and do what is right for the rider because no one has taught them how.
They do not know how to steer well; they do not have a good stop or back up. Hardly any stand still to get on, and many will not sit still on a loose rein. Stay at the speed you ask them to? Turn on the forehand or haunches? I doubt it. Side pass? You must be joking. Many years ridden in the correct gait with good solid trail miles? Now you're making me laugh.
That's right. So many out there are just green horses that were hardly under saddle long before they were sold to their first owner. When the first owner had issues, they sold the horse to someone else, and it just got past from one owner to the next without being taught what the human expected of them.
So, do you need a professional horse trainer? Most likely, you do need a trainer if you are having issues with your gaited horse. You need someone to teach it all the basic cues, so the horse understands what to do.
Do you need lessons? Most likely, you do, to learn how to properly cue your horse so it understands what you want.
Having the horse trained, then learning how to ride it makes the horse much safer. It is also much quicker to get a horse to gait correctly, if the trainer shows it how to gait and use its body correctly. Then, the trainer shows you, how to get the horse to gait.
If you try and gait it on your own but have no idea what the gait feels like or how the horse is suppose to use its body to do the correct gait, it's like the blind leading the blind. It is not going to go well, and it will take a lot more time and frustration. When trying to gait, you can get help through lessons, or clinics or online video help, but do something so you're not just guessing. Otherwise, you are just wasting years, pacing or trotting that pretty gaited horse. And neither of those gaits are smooth.
Is it worth the money? I would say in the end when you can ride that horse safely and gait it well, it is worth more than you can imagine.
Riding a horse is dangerous, but riding a green horse is extremely dangerous, because you cannot control them. They do not understand your cues. They also do not have experience and miles under them. Green horses can also be unpredictable.
Also, as you are practicing at home, it is a great idea to take the horse to the trainer not only for lessons once they have been trained, but also for tune-ups. This helps the horse be reminded of what they have learned, because more than likely if you are a beginner or new to riding or just have bad habits, you will confuse the horse many times.
Some horses cannot tolerate all that confusion without someone occasionally, putting a good non confusing ride on them. It's just like a tune-up for your car, every 3-5000 miles you get it checked, oil changed, to keep it running well.
It should be the same for your horse, that if they are not responding well, or are starting to act up, you immediately have the trainer ride it and help the horse to understand what you were asking it to do. Don't wait for things to fall apart and either you or the horse gets hurt.
So now you answer this question.
Do You and Your Gaited Horse Need a Trainer?
Gaited Books
Easy Gaited Horses By Lee Ziegler https://amzn.to/3vFuk8w
The Gaited Horse Bible by Brenda Imus https://amzn.to/3It0Imf
Gaits of Gold by Brenda Imus https://amzn.to/3jGXam0
Heavenly Gaits By Brenda Imus https://amzn.to/3ieKGBP
Training the Gaited Horse By Gary Lane https://amzn.to/3jPcAVq
DISCLAIMER: This description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission if you buy something. This helps support the website. Thank you for the support!
By Gaye DeRusso
Gaited horses have become the new hot item because of the increasing age of trail riders. The demand is high, but trained gaited horses, are low in supply.
Many of us grew up with non-gaited horses and most the horses we rode were trained very well. They had good basic training and then the owner usually worked with a trainer for some years before having the horse on their own.
Most horses once they are being ridden under saddle, are taught all the basic cues. How to steer, stop, back up, make circles and patterns, leg yield, turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches, side pass, shoulder in/out and haunches in/out, stand still for mounting and dismounting, stand still on a loose rein and take a break. If the horse is not taught these basic cues, the horse is called green aka not trained.
They are also taught to go at a certain speed when asked, to walk fast or slow, to trot fast or slow and to canter fast or slow. Once they are good at these basics, then they are trained for their career, dressage, jumping, eventing, reining, cow work, western pleasure, trail, etc., which can take many years until they are proficient at the career the owner bought them for. Once they are proficient, they are called a finished horse. If the horse has not had any of this training, they are called green aka not trained.
Training a horse in this manner helps the horses understand what they are supposed to do. That way there is less confusion, and the horses behave well. Also, by training the rider, the rider understands how to give the correct cue to the horse, so they do not get confused.
Ok that was all about non- gaited horses.
Now, onto Gaited horses.
Gaited horses come on the scene and over the past 10 years they have become very popular. Many are smooth and many have calm temperaments. So, beginners and older riders think that this is a good horse to get, smooth and calm, sounds good.
But what the beginners and older riders do not know, is that many gaited horses are green aka not trained. Because they are calm, many sellers take short cuts, and do not train them as I have mentioned above, and because they are smooth many sellers take short cuts on teaching them to gait correctly.
The quicker they get them under saddle and on the trail, the quicker they can sell them. That means less work and time spent for the seller and more money to make.
So, the gaited horse you are having issues with, is most likely untrained and has no idea what is suppose to do. It also has no reason to try and do what is right for the rider because no one has taught them how.
They do not know how to steer well; they do not have a good stop or back up. Hardly any stand still to get on, and many will not sit still on a loose rein. Stay at the speed you ask them to? Turn on the forehand or haunches? I doubt it. Side pass? You must be joking. Many years ridden in the correct gait with good solid trail miles? Now you're making me laugh.
That's right. So many out there are just green horses that were hardly under saddle long before they were sold to their first owner. When the first owner had issues, they sold the horse to someone else, and it just got past from one owner to the next without being taught what the human expected of them.
So, do you need a professional horse trainer? Most likely, you do need a trainer if you are having issues with your gaited horse. You need someone to teach it all the basic cues, so the horse understands what to do.
Do you need lessons? Most likely, you do, to learn how to properly cue your horse so it understands what you want.
Having the horse trained, then learning how to ride it makes the horse much safer. It is also much quicker to get a horse to gait correctly, if the trainer shows it how to gait and use its body correctly. Then, the trainer shows you, how to get the horse to gait.
If you try and gait it on your own but have no idea what the gait feels like or how the horse is suppose to use its body to do the correct gait, it's like the blind leading the blind. It is not going to go well, and it will take a lot more time and frustration. When trying to gait, you can get help through lessons, or clinics or online video help, but do something so you're not just guessing. Otherwise, you are just wasting years, pacing or trotting that pretty gaited horse. And neither of those gaits are smooth.
Is it worth the money? I would say in the end when you can ride that horse safely and gait it well, it is worth more than you can imagine.
Riding a horse is dangerous, but riding a green horse is extremely dangerous, because you cannot control them. They do not understand your cues. They also do not have experience and miles under them. Green horses can also be unpredictable.
Also, as you are practicing at home, it is a great idea to take the horse to the trainer not only for lessons once they have been trained, but also for tune-ups. This helps the horse be reminded of what they have learned, because more than likely if you are a beginner or new to riding or just have bad habits, you will confuse the horse many times.
Some horses cannot tolerate all that confusion without someone occasionally, putting a good non confusing ride on them. It's just like a tune-up for your car, every 3-5000 miles you get it checked, oil changed, to keep it running well.
It should be the same for your horse, that if they are not responding well, or are starting to act up, you immediately have the trainer ride it and help the horse to understand what you were asking it to do. Don't wait for things to fall apart and either you or the horse gets hurt.
So now you answer this question.
Do You and Your Gaited Horse Need a Trainer?
Gaited Books
Easy Gaited Horses By Lee Ziegler https://amzn.to/3vFuk8w
The Gaited Horse Bible by Brenda Imus https://amzn.to/3It0Imf
Gaits of Gold by Brenda Imus https://amzn.to/3jGXam0
Heavenly Gaits By Brenda Imus https://amzn.to/3ieKGBP
Training the Gaited Horse By Gary Lane https://amzn.to/3jPcAVq
DISCLAIMER: This description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission if you buy something. This helps support the website. Thank you for the support!