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Re: [RC] pacing anglo - Heidi Smith

>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.
 
Have found this true with the "gaited" Arabs as well.

>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.
 
One of my cornerstone bits of advice has always been that the walk is the most ignored gait in endurance horses as well, and if one spends time developing the walk early on, everything else benefits as well.

>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.
 
Yep on all counts.  The stallion I previously mentioned likewise would walk at about 5.5 mph pretty consistently.  The final 12 miles of the Santiam 100 that I mentioned was done with an average well over 5 mph--and I've sat at enough finish lines in the night to be able to tell you that the average speed of a walking endurance horse at night is between 2 and 3 mph.  Definitely an area where many horses could use some work.... 

>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.

I agree on both counts.
 
Heidi

Replies
[RC] pacing anglo, bekosso
Re: [RC] pacing anglo, Bonnie Davis
Re: [RC] pacing anglo, Heidi Smith
Re: [RC] pacing anglo, Truman Prevatt