Why I Love The Pace
By Gaye DeRusso
When getting a gaited horse, the first thing we think about is comfort. How great it will be to have a nice smooth ride and not bounce. The pace is a gait, but one most of us do not want to ride. Why? Because it is bouncy and not as smooth.
So why do horses' pace? There are many reasons, but the first I always think of is breeding. When you breed 2 horses together, you hope you are breeding for the best gaited horse, that will just naturally gait all day long. But that is not what always happens,
In the genetic pool of gaited horses, you have horses that when they are running loose, they just gait, others will gait and pace, or gait and trot, or gait and trot and pace. Some when loose will just trot, or just pace and you will never see them gait. This is all coming from their genes and what was bred into them.
It does not mean they will not gait; it just means those that just gait, will be the easiest ones to gait under saddle. The pacey or trotty ones, will be more difficult to get to gait or stay in gait but they can have great gaits when trained well and ridden correctly.
There are many pacey horses, but you usually need some pace to get the lateral gaits and some trot to get the diagonal gait. Very confusing isn't it.
Some are bred to be very pacey so when they add a weighted shoe or those big packages you see on some show horses, they will get the correct foot fall for the gait. If you put a heavy weight on the front feet of a trotty gaited horse, it will make it more trotty. So, it's possible your horse was bred to be pacey on purpose.
Other times with the breeding, it's like a recipe and it does not always come out as you expected. So, some come out with a great gait and even though it's the same mare and stallion another baby can come out being pacey or trotty.
Other reasons horses will pace is poor saddle fit, It causes pain so the horse cannot use its body correctly. Therefore, it swings its legs and paces because that is more comfortable with the way the saddle is fitting. They need a good saddle fit so they can use their body correctly.
Some pace because they are anxious, or their back and neck are not relaxed, or they are not in gaiting shape. Many horses need to be in good condition to gait. It takes muscle to gait, but not so much muscle to pace. To pace they just need to tense up their neck and back and swing their legs. That's why they like to do it, it's easier.
Others pace because the rider is not helping the horse, they may be going too fast and the horse cannot gait that fast, so you are riding it past its gait. Other times the horse may need some support from the rider and collection to gait correctly but the rider keeps dropping the contact on the rein, or the rein is too loose.
Still other horses maybe over collected and driven too hard from the riders' hands and seat and that causes them to pace. There are so many things that can make them pace. But nothing that a good trainer or training cannot fix.
I have trained a lot of horses over the years and although everyone seems to hate the pace, once they get on a horse that breaks into a trot, they usually hate that more, because its bouncier than the pace.
Sure, the ones that pace need specific work to get them to gait well, but if you do it right, in time some of these horses are the smoothest ones. Yes, I said it, some can be super smooth.
Remember on the pacey side of the gaited spectrum there are more gaits. Flat walk, running walk, saddle gait/slow rack, rack, step pace and then the pace. So, you might be able to get a lot more gaits out of your horse. That's a bonus!
To get them out of pacing, you usually have to take a step or more back in your horse's education. Make sure he knows the basics, bending, leg yield, shoulder in, serpentine, circles, relaxing his neck and back. Giving to the bit, able to lower his head and able to do vertical flexion. Then conditioning him in the arena and on the trail to hold his gait. Then over time slowly speeding him up.
Some of them just need to be ridden with more contact, others just pushing their shoulders over can stop them from pacing. Still others are just heavy on the bit or crooked and by fixing these things the horse will start to gait. And some will go to gaiting if you just change your saddle to one that fits it well.
If these horses were started out well, most would not keep falling into the pace, but most the time they do not have a good foundation and that is why they fall into the pace.
Still others were started well, but then had riders who did not ride them correctly and the horses decided why work hard and they started pacing and no one said no.
So instead of getting upset or complaining that your horse paces. Realize he could be very smooth if you put the time and effort into fixing him. Also, some of them end up with the most amazing canter, although it is hard to teach them to do it, it can be done, I do it all the time.
The pacey horse is not as bad as you may be thinking, or as bad as someone has told you. With the right trainer or the right training, they can be the most amazing horses. Remember it's not the horse's fault, he was bred that way and then most likely did not get the correct training to learn to do the gait we want, but that does not mean he cannot gait. It just means he needs help getting there.
I helped one client who was a beginner and new to gaited horses, work with her pacey horse. Every time I went over to give her a lesson, he was better, but she did everything I said. I was so impressed with her, and we did get him to do a nice running walk.
When I told her how impressed I was that she had taught her horse to gait well, she looked at me funny and said well why wouldn't I put the time in, to teach him right? I love him and want the best for him.
Needless to say, her horse now gaits very well, but I have other clients that have horses with more talented than hers that are still pacing. Why? I think you know the answer, the owners didn't put the effort in. Remember anything worthwhile takes effort.
If you put the effort into a pacey horse, you may be surprised just how great he can gait.
By Gaye DeRusso
When getting a gaited horse, the first thing we think about is comfort. How great it will be to have a nice smooth ride and not bounce. The pace is a gait, but one most of us do not want to ride. Why? Because it is bouncy and not as smooth.
So why do horses' pace? There are many reasons, but the first I always think of is breeding. When you breed 2 horses together, you hope you are breeding for the best gaited horse, that will just naturally gait all day long. But that is not what always happens,
In the genetic pool of gaited horses, you have horses that when they are running loose, they just gait, others will gait and pace, or gait and trot, or gait and trot and pace. Some when loose will just trot, or just pace and you will never see them gait. This is all coming from their genes and what was bred into them.
It does not mean they will not gait; it just means those that just gait, will be the easiest ones to gait under saddle. The pacey or trotty ones, will be more difficult to get to gait or stay in gait but they can have great gaits when trained well and ridden correctly.
There are many pacey horses, but you usually need some pace to get the lateral gaits and some trot to get the diagonal gait. Very confusing isn't it.
Some are bred to be very pacey so when they add a weighted shoe or those big packages you see on some show horses, they will get the correct foot fall for the gait. If you put a heavy weight on the front feet of a trotty gaited horse, it will make it more trotty. So, it's possible your horse was bred to be pacey on purpose.
Other times with the breeding, it's like a recipe and it does not always come out as you expected. So, some come out with a great gait and even though it's the same mare and stallion another baby can come out being pacey or trotty.
Other reasons horses will pace is poor saddle fit, It causes pain so the horse cannot use its body correctly. Therefore, it swings its legs and paces because that is more comfortable with the way the saddle is fitting. They need a good saddle fit so they can use their body correctly.
Some pace because they are anxious, or their back and neck are not relaxed, or they are not in gaiting shape. Many horses need to be in good condition to gait. It takes muscle to gait, but not so much muscle to pace. To pace they just need to tense up their neck and back and swing their legs. That's why they like to do it, it's easier.
Others pace because the rider is not helping the horse, they may be going too fast and the horse cannot gait that fast, so you are riding it past its gait. Other times the horse may need some support from the rider and collection to gait correctly but the rider keeps dropping the contact on the rein, or the rein is too loose.
Still other horses maybe over collected and driven too hard from the riders' hands and seat and that causes them to pace. There are so many things that can make them pace. But nothing that a good trainer or training cannot fix.
I have trained a lot of horses over the years and although everyone seems to hate the pace, once they get on a horse that breaks into a trot, they usually hate that more, because its bouncier than the pace.
Sure, the ones that pace need specific work to get them to gait well, but if you do it right, in time some of these horses are the smoothest ones. Yes, I said it, some can be super smooth.
Remember on the pacey side of the gaited spectrum there are more gaits. Flat walk, running walk, saddle gait/slow rack, rack, step pace and then the pace. So, you might be able to get a lot more gaits out of your horse. That's a bonus!
To get them out of pacing, you usually have to take a step or more back in your horse's education. Make sure he knows the basics, bending, leg yield, shoulder in, serpentine, circles, relaxing his neck and back. Giving to the bit, able to lower his head and able to do vertical flexion. Then conditioning him in the arena and on the trail to hold his gait. Then over time slowly speeding him up.
Some of them just need to be ridden with more contact, others just pushing their shoulders over can stop them from pacing. Still others are just heavy on the bit or crooked and by fixing these things the horse will start to gait. And some will go to gaiting if you just change your saddle to one that fits it well.
If these horses were started out well, most would not keep falling into the pace, but most the time they do not have a good foundation and that is why they fall into the pace.
Still others were started well, but then had riders who did not ride them correctly and the horses decided why work hard and they started pacing and no one said no.
So instead of getting upset or complaining that your horse paces. Realize he could be very smooth if you put the time and effort into fixing him. Also, some of them end up with the most amazing canter, although it is hard to teach them to do it, it can be done, I do it all the time.
The pacey horse is not as bad as you may be thinking, or as bad as someone has told you. With the right trainer or the right training, they can be the most amazing horses. Remember it's not the horse's fault, he was bred that way and then most likely did not get the correct training to learn to do the gait we want, but that does not mean he cannot gait. It just means he needs help getting there.
I helped one client who was a beginner and new to gaited horses, work with her pacey horse. Every time I went over to give her a lesson, he was better, but she did everything I said. I was so impressed with her, and we did get him to do a nice running walk.
When I told her how impressed I was that she had taught her horse to gait well, she looked at me funny and said well why wouldn't I put the time in, to teach him right? I love him and want the best for him.
Needless to say, her horse now gaits very well, but I have other clients that have horses with more talented than hers that are still pacing. Why? I think you know the answer, the owners didn't put the effort in. Remember anything worthwhile takes effort.
If you put the effort into a pacey horse, you may be surprised just how great he can gait.