What Is My Favorite Gaited Horse?
By Gaye DeRusso
I get asked this question a lot. But I have a couple of answers.
My favorite gaited horse is one that gaits well. One that stays in gait, surefooted, has a willing temperament, bred well, trained well, a good soul, smart, funny, loving and just over all a good horse. Gaited horses come in different breeds, shapes, and sizes. The best horse for you, is one that you can handle and one that can help you.
Each one is ridden a little differently and you have to be aware of your capabilities to get the right match. So, if you prefer a looser rein and not helping the horse as much then ones with shorter strides are usually better. If you like to work with a horse and help it, then ones with a longer stride maybe a better pick.
Steep terrain, get a horse with a shorter stride. Flat and rolling hills, a longer stride maybe more fun. If you ride with non-gaited horses, a shorter stride horse with a calm attitude, is usually easier. If you ride alone and like to cover ground in the least amount of time, then a longer stride horse with some go, would be a better pick.
Here's a few horses with shorter strides - the Missouri Fox Trotter, Rocky Mountain Horse, Paso Fino, Peruvian Paso, Kentucky Mountain Horse, Icelandic Pony. The Spotted Saddle Horse can have a shorter or longer stride. The horse with the longest stride and over reach is the Tennessee Walking Horse.
Now depending on breeding some listed above may not have a short stride and some may not have a long stride. That is for you to check when you evaluate the horse.
Ok now for me. I really do love them all. They all have their good points. But I do love me a good long strided Tennessee Walking Horse. The power I feel going up hills so easily, is amazing. Most are so willing, funny, and entertaining. The rhythm of their feet and nodding head, the sweeping motion of their legs across the ground, I just love it all. They also look so funny from the back when going up and downhill. They can look so funny and lame when ridden wrong but when ridden correctly it's beautiful to see them glide across the ground.
I do think they are the most difficult for vets to diagnose lameness with, because they do not look like a normal horse. Many just gait or pace where the other breeds may gait or trot. And if you did not know, Vet Schools do not have any special classes to teach the vets about gaited horses. So, the vets learn as they go. Kind of scary when you think about how many have been misdiagnosed.
The Tennessee Walker has everything the vets learn is supposed to be neurologic in a regular horse. I have seen articles and videos even stating this TWH is neurologic because of these things which I will list. But these things are bred into each one.
They nod their head- Lame, they have over reach (over stride) - Neurologic, they are over flexible and therefore their backends can wobble, if you turn them fast on the ground they can wobble, if you pull their tail while walking they can wobble, if you place their legs in certain positions they can stand like that with no issues- Neurologic. So, if you're not educated on these horses, you can be overwhelmed with what your vet and friends will say to you.
They can be trippy if not ridden correctly, shoed correctly or they are lazy, but tell your vet they are trippy and the first thing they say if they don't know about TWH is it maybe neurologic. They might be right; some are, but most are not. That is why you must understand them before getting one.
They are also misunderstood by many non gaited trainers. They are the most common ones I hear non gaited people tell others, the horse is lame or neurologic. They are also the most common ones ridden incorrectly. I do not think they are the best for a newbie with no help and no courage. Because people at barns talk and they will say your horse is weird or lame which is hard for some people to deal with.
But I love nothing more than having someone make fun of them and then I ride by gliding across the ground with a big smile on my face. But I like a challenge and I like to be different. I like to go fast and I like riding alone or with others who like to move out.
One year at the Horse Expo, I was warming up in the morning riding my TWH and I could see all the other riders looking at me funny, like what the heck is she riding. I am sure they thought he was lame since his head bobbed with every step.
So, after a good warm up I decided I would show them what he could really do. I started racking around that arena and people started walking up to watch, a lot of people came up. I saw the look of amazement in their eyes, watching how fast I could go on that horse but never bounce.
Then, someone yells out, what kind of horse is that, it looks so fun! I said it is fun, it's a Tennessee Walking Horse.
Sometimes you just need to show the lookers what they can do!
The Horse That Wouldn't Trot https://amzn.to/3Z3VgvY
Biography of the Tennessee Walker https://amzn.to/3Co9RZx
By Gaye DeRusso
I get asked this question a lot. But I have a couple of answers.
My favorite gaited horse is one that gaits well. One that stays in gait, surefooted, has a willing temperament, bred well, trained well, a good soul, smart, funny, loving and just over all a good horse. Gaited horses come in different breeds, shapes, and sizes. The best horse for you, is one that you can handle and one that can help you.
Each one is ridden a little differently and you have to be aware of your capabilities to get the right match. So, if you prefer a looser rein and not helping the horse as much then ones with shorter strides are usually better. If you like to work with a horse and help it, then ones with a longer stride maybe a better pick.
Steep terrain, get a horse with a shorter stride. Flat and rolling hills, a longer stride maybe more fun. If you ride with non-gaited horses, a shorter stride horse with a calm attitude, is usually easier. If you ride alone and like to cover ground in the least amount of time, then a longer stride horse with some go, would be a better pick.
Here's a few horses with shorter strides - the Missouri Fox Trotter, Rocky Mountain Horse, Paso Fino, Peruvian Paso, Kentucky Mountain Horse, Icelandic Pony. The Spotted Saddle Horse can have a shorter or longer stride. The horse with the longest stride and over reach is the Tennessee Walking Horse.
Now depending on breeding some listed above may not have a short stride and some may not have a long stride. That is for you to check when you evaluate the horse.
Ok now for me. I really do love them all. They all have their good points. But I do love me a good long strided Tennessee Walking Horse. The power I feel going up hills so easily, is amazing. Most are so willing, funny, and entertaining. The rhythm of their feet and nodding head, the sweeping motion of their legs across the ground, I just love it all. They also look so funny from the back when going up and downhill. They can look so funny and lame when ridden wrong but when ridden correctly it's beautiful to see them glide across the ground.
I do think they are the most difficult for vets to diagnose lameness with, because they do not look like a normal horse. Many just gait or pace where the other breeds may gait or trot. And if you did not know, Vet Schools do not have any special classes to teach the vets about gaited horses. So, the vets learn as they go. Kind of scary when you think about how many have been misdiagnosed.
The Tennessee Walker has everything the vets learn is supposed to be neurologic in a regular horse. I have seen articles and videos even stating this TWH is neurologic because of these things which I will list. But these things are bred into each one.
They nod their head- Lame, they have over reach (over stride) - Neurologic, they are over flexible and therefore their backends can wobble, if you turn them fast on the ground they can wobble, if you pull their tail while walking they can wobble, if you place their legs in certain positions they can stand like that with no issues- Neurologic. So, if you're not educated on these horses, you can be overwhelmed with what your vet and friends will say to you.
They can be trippy if not ridden correctly, shoed correctly or they are lazy, but tell your vet they are trippy and the first thing they say if they don't know about TWH is it maybe neurologic. They might be right; some are, but most are not. That is why you must understand them before getting one.
They are also misunderstood by many non gaited trainers. They are the most common ones I hear non gaited people tell others, the horse is lame or neurologic. They are also the most common ones ridden incorrectly. I do not think they are the best for a newbie with no help and no courage. Because people at barns talk and they will say your horse is weird or lame which is hard for some people to deal with.
But I love nothing more than having someone make fun of them and then I ride by gliding across the ground with a big smile on my face. But I like a challenge and I like to be different. I like to go fast and I like riding alone or with others who like to move out.
One year at the Horse Expo, I was warming up in the morning riding my TWH and I could see all the other riders looking at me funny, like what the heck is she riding. I am sure they thought he was lame since his head bobbed with every step.
So, after a good warm up I decided I would show them what he could really do. I started racking around that arena and people started walking up to watch, a lot of people came up. I saw the look of amazement in their eyes, watching how fast I could go on that horse but never bounce.
Then, someone yells out, what kind of horse is that, it looks so fun! I said it is fun, it's a Tennessee Walking Horse.
Sometimes you just need to show the lookers what they can do!
The Horse That Wouldn't Trot https://amzn.to/3Z3VgvY
Biography of the Tennessee Walker https://amzn.to/3Co9RZx