Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Gaited horses - especially the walking horses and five gaited horses - can
walk out. If they don't they won't gait. The orverstird seems to come with
the package and as they get stronger the walk gets faster and more powerful
with more over stride. 

The old time walking horse trainers - when they used to spend time on them
instead of trying to get the two minute maricle for the show ring - used
to have a rider take the horse out day after day and just walk and walk and
walk. They would say once they can walk everything else falls into place.

When I was riding the mare (TWH) she had a walk that would require others
to trot to keep up. I measured it one time - 6 miles in one hour.  This is
the plan old easy flat footed walk - no running walk, no gait. The one thing
about it is the thrust that comes from the hind end on every stride. You
can really feel if you're not loose in the hips it can get to you.

With non gaited horses that will gait and have a big walk, I suspect if you
looked hard you'd find there are two components. One is clearly wiring that
gives them the tendency to gait and also conformation that gives them the
big walk. 

Truman

Heidi Smith wrote:
> > My daughter had a registered Quarter Horse gelding that 'singlefooted'.  A
> > really nice gait -- comfortable and can cover distances for hours.  Only
> > problem, difficult to get a singlefooter to flat out walk.
> >   
>
> Actually, with my Arabs that amble or singlefoot, I've not found that to be
> the case.  The ones I've had with the most tendency to gait have also had
> the most outstanding walks.  My best "gaiter" has been my stallion Abu Ben
> Surrabu--and one of my favorite memories of his endurance career was doing
> the last 12 miles of the Santiam 100 in the pitch dark, up over Cash
> Mountain (single file trail over a BIG climb, and jeep road down the other
> side), glow sticks swinging on his chest, in 2:05 without ever getting out
> of a walk.  We actually put distance between us and horses behind us that
> were trotting trying to catch up.  He has an overreach as much as 16" at the
> walk pretty routinely, and can really march along.
>
> Heidi