Gaited vs. Non Gaited Horses
I love gaited horses and of course I think they are the best horses, but when you are deciding what your next horse should be, there are several things you should be looking at.
If you want a gaited horse because your back hurts or you have bad knees, the first thing you should ask yourself is, am I willing to learn something new? Riding a gaited horse is not the same as riding a trotting horse. Most people can feel when a horse trots but most cannot feel what gait their horse is doing. Gaited horses are usually ridden on a shorter rein like an English or Dressage horse, so if you buy one that was ridden on a short rein and you want to ride on a loose rein, you just got yourself a problem.
Why are they ridden on a shorter rein? It is so you are able to adjust the horse’s speed in its gait. If your rein is loose and floppy this will be much harder to do and the horse will probably go in to several different gaits before you get your reins short enough. Now some gaited horses will hold their gait on a loose rein, but this is because they were taught to do it, of course these horses are usually more expensive and since you don’t want to spend the money, you will probably not buy one of those. So if you buy cheaper, you will most likely get the cheaper gait and you will need to work at improving your horse’s gait.
Think of it this way, you have ridden western horses (similar to an automatic cars) all your life. You really never learned how to ride, you just got by somehow, and the sweet tempered quarter horses failed to kill you because they are the golden retrievers of the horse world. Now that you are all grown up, for some reason you think you know how to ride. The sad thing is, most of you do not know how to ride and most of you never took lessons.
Now you decide you want to go gaited, well this is like switching to a standard car and instead of stripping the gears of the car, you will be stripping the horse of his gaits, if you don’t learn how to get his gaits and keep them.
If you were going to switch to a standard car, wouldn’t you have someone show you how to drive it so you wouldn’t ruin your new car? It is not as easy as the automatic, but they are a whole lot of fun once you figure out how to drive a standard.
There’s nothing sadder then having a trainer spend all their time getting a horse to gait well, then to have the buyer take all its gaits away, just because they thought they knew what they were doing and couldn’t spend the money or time to learn how to gait. It happens all the time.
These horses are not the golden retriever of the dog world but they are usually more energetic, think of them more as a boxer dog, full of energy and ready to have fun with you. They have that energy so they can gait all day for you. So if you are not going to ride very much you should pick a dull quiet gaited horse not the one with awesome fast gaits.
How do I know which one to buy? Well you need to try it of course, because if you do not go try the horse in person, then what you get is your own fault. You cannot judge a horse’s temperament, or how it will gait with you, without riding it. Also, what the seller thinks is calm and quiet may not be calm and quiet enough for you. In Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri, the people who own horses and sell horses, know how to ride. They have also grown up on gaited horses, so they know how to gait and to them it is easy. They like to go fast and they just get on and go. Is this what you want to do?
Next, are you willing to take some lessons? I can already hear you, but I know how to ride, well so did I when I changed to gaited, and it is not the same thing. You have to learn how to get the gaits, you have to learn what to do if they go out of gait, learn to feel the gaits and know how to make them better. You need to control the horses speed and gait and it is your job to pick the gait, it is not the horse’s job. If you leave it up to them, they will pick the easiest one and some will switch it all over the place. You don’t let your car pick it’s own speed do you?
If you are not willing then it is best to just buy a trotting horse and find one with a smooth non- bouncy trot. Or get a dull pokey gaited horse, or spring for the older expensive gaited horse with the awesome gaits and just hope he is old enough you don’t ruin him in his lifetime.
Everyone wants to be a passenger and just sit there. Come on people lets learn something new. Learn how to gait. Take a new challenge. If you get a gaited horse, work with a gaited trainer for a month or so, it will make such a difference in your horse’s gaits. They use to call it the art of riding, but for some reason it now seems to be the lack of riding.
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
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