It was 2500 men and horses (not 5000 as I put in the email yesterday) that got caught between enemy lines for 17 days. In one 36 hour period they traveled 136 miles, avoiding the Yankees. They also rode in less that 24 hours, traveling between two towns, that were 96 miles apart but they had to make detours to avoid bridges and towns, so the actually riding distance is unknown. 2100 horses and men survived the 17 days of extreme conditions of endurance. This is documented in military records, as is the fact that the Saddlebred type horses gave the South an advantage against the Yankee Cavalry because of their endurance. Another fact is that most of the leaders on both sides of the civil war rode Saddlebred type horses.
Reading about the civil war is an interesting tale of including a lot of great horsemen and horses that did incredible feats of endurance and stamina.
Not all or most saddlebred horses are gaited , they do have the athelic ability to be trained to gait.
