Fixing The Pacing Gaited Horse Part 2 - Trail
By Gaye DeRusso
It is best to teach your horse all the previous information I mentioned in part one before heading down the trail. You can teach it in their stall at home or in the parking lot of your trail system if you do not have an arena or round pen, but the more they understand before you go out, the easier it will be. Make sure the horse knows how to give to the bit, bend their body, move forward and sideways off your leg, has a good whoa and a good backup.
Also, if the horse already understands how to gait some and has good speed control it will be so much easier, that’s why the arena is so helpful for the pacey horse. It helps to get the basics down, so you are able to communicate easier to them and help them understand and be prepared for gaiting on the trail .
Before you start heading down the trail, make sure you are either riding alone or with just a couple people who will let you control the speed and wait for you anytime you need to stop. Otherwise, if you are riding with fast riders or inconsiderate riders, you will not be able to teach your horse. They will make your horse anxious, and you won't be able to go the right speed to stop your horse from pacing.
If you ride with faster riders, your horse will want to pace because that’s all it knows how to do when it goes faster, so you must set it up, so it is easier for your horse to learn and focus on what you are teaching them. Also, it is best to get some energy off of your horse and warm it up with lunging, round pen or running it around in the pasture before you head out on the trail. Warming up their joints and getting rid of extra energy, will help your horse to focus more but also make them less likely to pace as their body will be more relaxed instead of tense.
So, let’s begin, start at a slow trail walk for the first 10 minutes of the ride, practice your leg yields and serpentine as you are going down the trail. If you know how to do shoulder in, practice that as well, just here and there ask them to do this lateral type of work. Make sure your reins are short enough so you can communicate to them quickly and also so they can feel your half halt any time they try to change speed on their own.
Downhill, makes horses pacey, so every time you go downhill, you will need to help your horse keep from pacing. Use your half halts and give them one every step as you go downhill to help slow them down but also to balance them and get their weight to shift back on their backend. You can also serpentine or leg yield or alternate between the two. Still pacing, then walk a couple steps and stop and stand, then walk a couple more steps and stop and stand. Repeat this down the whole hill if you have to, but whatever you do, do not pace. If your horse still paces, then try and go off trail, into the rough and walk over obstacles, such as branches and rocks as you go down the hill, this will act as natural pole work.
Any time you go downhill and then there is a gully and then the trail goes uphill, try to stop at the bottom of the hill and go very slow through the gully and then slowly go back to the same walk as you start going up the hill. If you do not slow down or stop, many horses will pace down the hill and continue to pace up the hill because they want to continue the same motion. So, you need to make your horse understand that it should not pace, and you will not let it pace.
If on the flat and the horse paces, try stopping and backing up 5 steps then immediately going forward to get it out of the pace. Make sure to tell your friends to stop and wait while you do this. Otherwise, your horse may get anxious from the other horses leaving and it will pace more to catch up. Also don't forget to use your half halts when you feel them trying to pace and to leg yielding back and forth or serpentine when you feel it trying to pace, you can even bend your horse one direction then the other, but you do whatever you have to, to stay out of the pace. Still pacing, get off the trail and ride in the rough. That’s the footing next to the trail, use the rocks, branches, trees etc. as your natural pole work. When not pacing go back on trail and then if your horse starts to pace, go back into the rough. They will figure it out in time that if they do the right movement, you make their life easier not harder. You want to associate the pace with hard work, so they do not want to do it anymore.
You will need to keep repeating all these things as you ride down the trail, half halting, staying a slow speed, doing your lateral movement, slow down hill, stop at the bottom of hills and stopping and backing up if pacing at the slow walk. Riding in the rough and going over obstacles.
At the end of 10 minutes if your horse has a clear 4 beat slow walk you can try and go a little faster into your flat walk, pressing with one leg and then the other to extend their walk. You will repeat everything as above, but going downhill, always do a slow walk and going on the flat and uphill you can go into your flat walk. If your horse cannot do a 4-beat walk slow, then you must continue to only slow walk on the trail until you get a 4-beat slow walk. It should only take a couple weeks if you are doing it correctly and riding enough times on the trail (3-5 times a week). So remember, you must have a good 4 beat slow walk before you progress or you will most likely not get a consistent smooth 4 beat flat walk.
Anytime there is a hill, keep your horses head down and keep the same speed by using more leg. Do not let them raise their head up to cheat and do not let them canter or change gaits to get up the hill. The hill naturally collects your horse and puts its weight on its hindquarters, that’s why pacey horses do well on uphill and not so good on flat or down hill. But you must learn how to collect them and get them on their backend, so you don't always need hills to gait.
The uphill, will help them to get stronger and get your gait to be faster in time if you do it correctly. It will be hard for you and your horse as you need to keep them in a relaxed frame but use your leg to get them to dig those back legs into the ground and push you up the hill. Tilt slightly forward to help free up their back when going uphill. When they do it right, it is an amazing feeling to feel all the power they have in their backend.
Try and flat walk for the next 10-20 minutes, always slower downhill and stopping at the bottom before going back to the flat walk on the flat or on the uphill if that is next.
Remember when they are doing well even a couple steps, stop and rest and then resume your trail ride. Always asking for more steps, but you may have to keep slowing down to get them back in a slow walk then pushing back up to the flat walk after you stop. You have to make sure their feet are doing 4 beats before you ask for more speed. Do not rush the process, that’s how your horse started pacing in the first place. You must teach them how to use their body to do a correct 4 beat flat walk.
After 20-30 minutes, stop and rest the horse. As even flat walking is hard work when they are use to pacing. Then repeat for another 30 minutes and rest. If the horse starts pacing more or getting trippy, they are telling you they are tired. So, give more rest and go back to your slow walk till you get back to the trailer or the barn. Do not let them put their head too low because this will put more weight on their front end, and when tired any horse can trip, but pacey horses tend to drag their toes and pace more when tired, so you want to make sure they are paying attention to their feet.
Repeat 3-5 times a week but doing some shorter and harder rides. Always asking for the flat walk, on the flat and on uphill. Remember you can go off trail at any time to help get your horse out of the pace and walk over any obstacles or in rough footing to help separate their legs.
It may take 2-4 weeks before you notice a difference. If no improvement, you are not doing it correctly. Remember you cannot let the horse pace at all, or they will be confused. So, if you get tired and your friends talk you into going faster and you let your horse pace, or you let someone ride your horse and they let it pace, all the previous work you did will be gone and your horse will not understand. Then you will need to start the process all over again. So, just don't let them pace at all.
Once you can do a flat walk for most of the trail ride and stay in gait, then you can progress to your next gait. But always slow walk down the hills. But after you have slow walked for 10 minutes and flat walked for 10 minutes or more, if they are doing well and no pace, then you can now try for your next gait. It is best to try it on uphill first as it is easiest. The hills will collect the horse and help it to drive with its backend. So, keep the head down and flat walk but at each hill, keep the head down and ask for more speed. The horse will try to cheat but do not let them raise their head much. Keep asking until they go faster into a running walk or fox trot or saddle gait. Remember any faster smooth steps, tell them good job but continue up the hill then rest on the top. If you stop in the middle, it will be too hard for them to get the gait again. Rest at the top then back to flat walking until the next hill.
Once they can do the uphill smoothly for at least 5 trail rides, then you can try getting the gait on the flat also, but never on the downhill. So now on the flat ask for more speed, if they hard pace, stop and backup 5 steps and start again and repeat till you get a couple good steps. You can also try serpentine or leg yield or shoulder in, on the flat if they try to pace. If those fail, then time to ride in the rough footing again and try for their next gait there instead but stop and reward when smooth and then continue on.
Once they are doing better, then only serpentine or leg yield or shoulder in, when you feel them getting pacey. And only take them into the rough when all else fails. In time they will understand that if they pace, life gets harder, not easier. But this only works if your consistent and reward with rest when they do it right and give them more work when they pace.
Try to only do the intermediate gait for spurts of 3-5 minutes on the flat and then back to the flat walk as they have to build up strength to hold it longer. After a couple weeks, try to add a couple more minutes and if they can do it then, in a couple more weeks add on more time and so on. But if getting worse they are telling you they are not ready to hold it.
Remember you are teaching them, but it is hard work for them. So, they must understand what you want, but they also have to be conditioned to hold the gait farther and longer. So, try not to get carried away and ask for too much too fast. But every couple weeks they should be getting a little better if you are riding consistently.
If you ride too hard or too far, they will go back to trying to pacing as it is easier to do. And if they get too tired and start pacing a lot, they will also get trippy from being tired and dragging their toes in the pace. If that is happening, stop get off and give them a 20-minute rest or get off and walk them home. Otherwise, some can trip and fall due to being tired.
Each horse is different, and each horse will learn at a different speed, but even if they understand, some will take longer than others to figure out what to do with their feet. This is normal, so give them time, keep trying to get more, but always going back down in speed and time if they are not doing well. It will come, but you have to give them time to progress, especially if they are older and have been pacing all their life.
Also be aware that the better rider you are, the easier it is to communicate to the horse and help them. Keep the reins short enough that if you half halt your horse will immediately feel it and slow down. You will not be able to correct them fast enough on a very long rein.
If you do not ride well, it’s best to take some lessons and get your balance and cues better before trying to gait on the trail. And don't forget to get your saddle fitted, an ill-fitting saddle can cause many horses to pace.
If you follow the program and do not rush the horse, in time they will understand and start gaiting. Each ride should be better than the previous ride and their gait should get a little better each ride. But remember never, ever, ever, let them pace again. Because if you are inconsistent, the horse will keep trying to do the easiest thing which is pace. If they never get to do it, they will try their best to stop, but if they get to pace after they tried 20 times, they will keep trying to pace, because they know when they get to 20 you will let them.
Stop the pace!
By Gaye DeRusso
It is best to teach your horse all the previous information I mentioned in part one before heading down the trail. You can teach it in their stall at home or in the parking lot of your trail system if you do not have an arena or round pen, but the more they understand before you go out, the easier it will be. Make sure the horse knows how to give to the bit, bend their body, move forward and sideways off your leg, has a good whoa and a good backup.
Also, if the horse already understands how to gait some and has good speed control it will be so much easier, that’s why the arena is so helpful for the pacey horse. It helps to get the basics down, so you are able to communicate easier to them and help them understand and be prepared for gaiting on the trail .
Before you start heading down the trail, make sure you are either riding alone or with just a couple people who will let you control the speed and wait for you anytime you need to stop. Otherwise, if you are riding with fast riders or inconsiderate riders, you will not be able to teach your horse. They will make your horse anxious, and you won't be able to go the right speed to stop your horse from pacing.
If you ride with faster riders, your horse will want to pace because that’s all it knows how to do when it goes faster, so you must set it up, so it is easier for your horse to learn and focus on what you are teaching them. Also, it is best to get some energy off of your horse and warm it up with lunging, round pen or running it around in the pasture before you head out on the trail. Warming up their joints and getting rid of extra energy, will help your horse to focus more but also make them less likely to pace as their body will be more relaxed instead of tense.
So, let’s begin, start at a slow trail walk for the first 10 minutes of the ride, practice your leg yields and serpentine as you are going down the trail. If you know how to do shoulder in, practice that as well, just here and there ask them to do this lateral type of work. Make sure your reins are short enough so you can communicate to them quickly and also so they can feel your half halt any time they try to change speed on their own.
Downhill, makes horses pacey, so every time you go downhill, you will need to help your horse keep from pacing. Use your half halts and give them one every step as you go downhill to help slow them down but also to balance them and get their weight to shift back on their backend. You can also serpentine or leg yield or alternate between the two. Still pacing, then walk a couple steps and stop and stand, then walk a couple more steps and stop and stand. Repeat this down the whole hill if you have to, but whatever you do, do not pace. If your horse still paces, then try and go off trail, into the rough and walk over obstacles, such as branches and rocks as you go down the hill, this will act as natural pole work.
Any time you go downhill and then there is a gully and then the trail goes uphill, try to stop at the bottom of the hill and go very slow through the gully and then slowly go back to the same walk as you start going up the hill. If you do not slow down or stop, many horses will pace down the hill and continue to pace up the hill because they want to continue the same motion. So, you need to make your horse understand that it should not pace, and you will not let it pace.
If on the flat and the horse paces, try stopping and backing up 5 steps then immediately going forward to get it out of the pace. Make sure to tell your friends to stop and wait while you do this. Otherwise, your horse may get anxious from the other horses leaving and it will pace more to catch up. Also don't forget to use your half halts when you feel them trying to pace and to leg yielding back and forth or serpentine when you feel it trying to pace, you can even bend your horse one direction then the other, but you do whatever you have to, to stay out of the pace. Still pacing, get off the trail and ride in the rough. That’s the footing next to the trail, use the rocks, branches, trees etc. as your natural pole work. When not pacing go back on trail and then if your horse starts to pace, go back into the rough. They will figure it out in time that if they do the right movement, you make their life easier not harder. You want to associate the pace with hard work, so they do not want to do it anymore.
You will need to keep repeating all these things as you ride down the trail, half halting, staying a slow speed, doing your lateral movement, slow down hill, stop at the bottom of hills and stopping and backing up if pacing at the slow walk. Riding in the rough and going over obstacles.
At the end of 10 minutes if your horse has a clear 4 beat slow walk you can try and go a little faster into your flat walk, pressing with one leg and then the other to extend their walk. You will repeat everything as above, but going downhill, always do a slow walk and going on the flat and uphill you can go into your flat walk. If your horse cannot do a 4-beat walk slow, then you must continue to only slow walk on the trail until you get a 4-beat slow walk. It should only take a couple weeks if you are doing it correctly and riding enough times on the trail (3-5 times a week). So remember, you must have a good 4 beat slow walk before you progress or you will most likely not get a consistent smooth 4 beat flat walk.
Anytime there is a hill, keep your horses head down and keep the same speed by using more leg. Do not let them raise their head up to cheat and do not let them canter or change gaits to get up the hill. The hill naturally collects your horse and puts its weight on its hindquarters, that’s why pacey horses do well on uphill and not so good on flat or down hill. But you must learn how to collect them and get them on their backend, so you don't always need hills to gait.
The uphill, will help them to get stronger and get your gait to be faster in time if you do it correctly. It will be hard for you and your horse as you need to keep them in a relaxed frame but use your leg to get them to dig those back legs into the ground and push you up the hill. Tilt slightly forward to help free up their back when going uphill. When they do it right, it is an amazing feeling to feel all the power they have in their backend.
Try and flat walk for the next 10-20 minutes, always slower downhill and stopping at the bottom before going back to the flat walk on the flat or on the uphill if that is next.
Remember when they are doing well even a couple steps, stop and rest and then resume your trail ride. Always asking for more steps, but you may have to keep slowing down to get them back in a slow walk then pushing back up to the flat walk after you stop. You have to make sure their feet are doing 4 beats before you ask for more speed. Do not rush the process, that’s how your horse started pacing in the first place. You must teach them how to use their body to do a correct 4 beat flat walk.
After 20-30 minutes, stop and rest the horse. As even flat walking is hard work when they are use to pacing. Then repeat for another 30 minutes and rest. If the horse starts pacing more or getting trippy, they are telling you they are tired. So, give more rest and go back to your slow walk till you get back to the trailer or the barn. Do not let them put their head too low because this will put more weight on their front end, and when tired any horse can trip, but pacey horses tend to drag their toes and pace more when tired, so you want to make sure they are paying attention to their feet.
Repeat 3-5 times a week but doing some shorter and harder rides. Always asking for the flat walk, on the flat and on uphill. Remember you can go off trail at any time to help get your horse out of the pace and walk over any obstacles or in rough footing to help separate their legs.
It may take 2-4 weeks before you notice a difference. If no improvement, you are not doing it correctly. Remember you cannot let the horse pace at all, or they will be confused. So, if you get tired and your friends talk you into going faster and you let your horse pace, or you let someone ride your horse and they let it pace, all the previous work you did will be gone and your horse will not understand. Then you will need to start the process all over again. So, just don't let them pace at all.
Once you can do a flat walk for most of the trail ride and stay in gait, then you can progress to your next gait. But always slow walk down the hills. But after you have slow walked for 10 minutes and flat walked for 10 minutes or more, if they are doing well and no pace, then you can now try for your next gait. It is best to try it on uphill first as it is easiest. The hills will collect the horse and help it to drive with its backend. So, keep the head down and flat walk but at each hill, keep the head down and ask for more speed. The horse will try to cheat but do not let them raise their head much. Keep asking until they go faster into a running walk or fox trot or saddle gait. Remember any faster smooth steps, tell them good job but continue up the hill then rest on the top. If you stop in the middle, it will be too hard for them to get the gait again. Rest at the top then back to flat walking until the next hill.
Once they can do the uphill smoothly for at least 5 trail rides, then you can try getting the gait on the flat also, but never on the downhill. So now on the flat ask for more speed, if they hard pace, stop and backup 5 steps and start again and repeat till you get a couple good steps. You can also try serpentine or leg yield or shoulder in, on the flat if they try to pace. If those fail, then time to ride in the rough footing again and try for their next gait there instead but stop and reward when smooth and then continue on.
Once they are doing better, then only serpentine or leg yield or shoulder in, when you feel them getting pacey. And only take them into the rough when all else fails. In time they will understand that if they pace, life gets harder, not easier. But this only works if your consistent and reward with rest when they do it right and give them more work when they pace.
Try to only do the intermediate gait for spurts of 3-5 minutes on the flat and then back to the flat walk as they have to build up strength to hold it longer. After a couple weeks, try to add a couple more minutes and if they can do it then, in a couple more weeks add on more time and so on. But if getting worse they are telling you they are not ready to hold it.
Remember you are teaching them, but it is hard work for them. So, they must understand what you want, but they also have to be conditioned to hold the gait farther and longer. So, try not to get carried away and ask for too much too fast. But every couple weeks they should be getting a little better if you are riding consistently.
If you ride too hard or too far, they will go back to trying to pacing as it is easier to do. And if they get too tired and start pacing a lot, they will also get trippy from being tired and dragging their toes in the pace. If that is happening, stop get off and give them a 20-minute rest or get off and walk them home. Otherwise, some can trip and fall due to being tired.
Each horse is different, and each horse will learn at a different speed, but even if they understand, some will take longer than others to figure out what to do with their feet. This is normal, so give them time, keep trying to get more, but always going back down in speed and time if they are not doing well. It will come, but you have to give them time to progress, especially if they are older and have been pacing all their life.
Also be aware that the better rider you are, the easier it is to communicate to the horse and help them. Keep the reins short enough that if you half halt your horse will immediately feel it and slow down. You will not be able to correct them fast enough on a very long rein.
If you do not ride well, it’s best to take some lessons and get your balance and cues better before trying to gait on the trail. And don't forget to get your saddle fitted, an ill-fitting saddle can cause many horses to pace.
If you follow the program and do not rush the horse, in time they will understand and start gaiting. Each ride should be better than the previous ride and their gait should get a little better each ride. But remember never, ever, ever, let them pace again. Because if you are inconsistent, the horse will keep trying to do the easiest thing which is pace. If they never get to do it, they will try their best to stop, but if they get to pace after they tried 20 times, they will keep trying to pace, because they know when they get to 20 you will let them.
Stop the pace!