Posted 2008-09-10 1:11 PM (#91244 - in reply to #90854) Subject: RE: new to gaited horses, general questions
Regular
Posts: 59 Location: Mt. Vision, NY - waaay upstate
I agree with the excellent advice others have said. I cannot stress enough to you that you should "stay out of the show barns" if you are looking for a trail horse. For the past 30+ years I have ridden/trained all manner of gaited breeds for trail, only. In my area of NY State I find that I need a horse good on hills and mountains. Where the mountains are concerned, I find an even 4-beat gait works the best. I own 2 Icelandic/TWH mares that handle the hills fine with a rack, but...they are short coupled and are less "rackie" than some. I also have a Morgan that gaits 4-beat...not just walks fast - I mean really gaits on out and does not trot undersaddle. He also is non-trippy in the mountains. I have had full-bred and part-bloods of most all the gaited breeds and like previously stated there are smooth and rough in each and every breed. The Peurvian Paso is the smoothest of all - IMO and very good in the hills, but again, I have met some that did nothing but trot, too. If you have not ridden gaited horses before, you should be aware that they will "seem" far more forward than your previous ride, unless you have been riding endurance-paced horses. The folks I have converted all say that their first impression is one of "too much speed". This will pass, but be prepared. As for tack. I find the treeless saddles are great for the gaited (and non-gaited) breeds. It frees up the shoulder and usually fits most any horse. I have put a treeless on several horses with gaited papers that never took a step in gait (9-10 yr old) and viola - we got gait.
new to gaited horses, general questions
