A few thoughts on specific gait-training
there is a lot to concider in gaits,
and for starters, you need to be able to know what your horse's feet are doing
every gaited horse has a breed specific 4-beat rhythmic cadence,
I found the easiest way to recognise the gaits is by simply listening to the sound while riding on a hard surface,
I am thinking "black-en-deck-er" while riding and listening for the 4-beat
another way is to slow down a video made while gaiting, and look at it slow-motion
watching while somebody else is riding will tell you a lot as well, but since those hoofs can go mighty fast the above idea's might be easier..
this is some good reading about gaits
how to improve gait
improving the gait on your gaited horse is not so different in the training of un-gaited horses,
surface
the flatter the ground is, the easier it is for your horse to maintain a good balanced rhythmic gait,
a deep sandy surface makes it harder
saddle
as with all horses, gaited horses need a good fitting saddle
a saddle with a poor fit, eg not fitting the shoulders or hurting the back, will cause the horse to change the way he moves by being uncomfortable or in pain
the "twist" in the saddle shape for trotting horses might be greatly different than your gaited horse's back
a good explanation can be found here;
saddle twist
collection
you want your horse to be soft, giving head/neck/shoulders/ribs/hips and be able to collect your horse on a soft rein
collecting a horse in my eyes means exactly that....soft rein, and a horse that gives
collection as we know is the energy and drive from the rear
with a paso fino it is extremely easy to collect, since they are so energenic and naturally drive from the rear legs, while lifting slightly on the front
(you will notice this with a lot of gaited breeds)
I catch the horses front with my hands, allow the crest to round slightly , and leave the horse in this natural frame,
it is useless to pull the horses head towards the chest, this has nothing to do with a collected frame!
exercises
I find that certain exercises benefit the gait,
small circles
speed transitions
half-halts and back
lots of slow work, gradually speeding up
there is a lot to concider in gaits,
and for starters, you need to be able to know what your horse's feet are doing
every gaited horse has a breed specific 4-beat rhythmic cadence,
I found the easiest way to recognise the gaits is by simply listening to the sound while riding on a hard surface,
I am thinking "black-en-deck-er" while riding and listening for the 4-beat
another way is to slow down a video made while gaiting, and look at it slow-motion
watching while somebody else is riding will tell you a lot as well, but since those hoofs can go mighty fast the above idea's might be easier..
this is some good reading about gaits
how to improve gait
improving the gait on your gaited horse is not so different in the training of un-gaited horses,
surface
the flatter the ground is, the easier it is for your horse to maintain a good balanced rhythmic gait,
a deep sandy surface makes it harder
saddle
as with all horses, gaited horses need a good fitting saddle
a saddle with a poor fit, eg not fitting the shoulders or hurting the back, will cause the horse to change the way he moves by being uncomfortable or in pain
the "twist" in the saddle shape for trotting horses might be greatly different than your gaited horse's back
a good explanation can be found here;
saddle twist
collection
you want your horse to be soft, giving head/neck/shoulders/ribs/hips and be able to collect your horse on a soft rein
collecting a horse in my eyes means exactly that....soft rein, and a horse that gives
collection as we know is the energy and drive from the rear
with a paso fino it is extremely easy to collect, since they are so energenic and naturally drive from the rear legs, while lifting slightly on the front
(you will notice this with a lot of gaited breeds)
I catch the horses front with my hands, allow the crest to round slightly , and leave the horse in this natural frame,
it is useless to pull the horses head towards the chest, this has nothing to do with a collected frame!
exercises
I find that certain exercises benefit the gait,
small circles
speed transitions
half-halts and back
lots of slow work, gradually speeding up