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Re: [RC] gaited horses - Duncan Fletcher----- Original Message ----- From: "Truman Prevatt" <tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> David & Maggie wrote: rack--4 beat gait; action is more vertical; very smooth; when viewed from behind, the tail looks like waves of water traveling downward; very little head bob, but more than a non-gaited horse; can be lateral or diagonal, but more often lateral; if the horse isn't 'in his gaits well' it will not be evenly cadencedA good rack should be exactly 4 beat - not lateral nor diagonal. It is a pretty high headed gait. The rack should be fast. Even 4 beat in set down, but uneven in pickup timing. The result is front legs off the ground for a longer period of time than rears and a longer period of time supported by lateral pairs than diagonal pairs, therefore support is more lateral. running walk--foreleg action is more reaching; head bob is more pronounced; 4 beats, tends to be lateral gait; should be evenly cadencedA good running walk should be exactly 4 beat also. It is a walk that is speeded up with lots of overstride and a pronounced head nod. The front end should be light. I've heard the running walk looks like they are trotting in front and walking in back. Even cadence (set down timing) and also equal pickup timing. The horse spends equal time supported by lateral pairs and diagonal pairs. singlefoot--very little action; this gait is a 'get there comfortably' thing, and not showy; the tail thing is really obvious; can be lateral or diagonal, although the Appalachian Singlefooter Horse Breeders prefer diagonal; supposedly, there is a period when only one foot is on the ground; it is a very evenly cadenced gait; this is the gait that most non-gaited breeds do if they are going to do something 'odd'; it can be a very fast gait Timing similar to the rack. When pickup timing changes enough there is a period of time when both fores are off the ground at the same time and the horse is supported by a single rear - hence singlefoot. Missouri Foxtrot--I am not an expert here, I've ridden one once; very smooth; pronounced head bob; unevenly cadenced; obvious tail thing; they tell you they walk in front and trot in back (or is it the other way around?), but that makes no sense to me.See the walking horse, the MFT is said to look like he is walking in front and trotting in the back. The foxtrot doesn't have the overstride of the running walk so it doesn't have the pronounced head nod. A good one is an exact square 4 beat giat. A four beat gait, but not even. It is a broken trot with setdown timing. If the gait is an exact 4 beat (setdown), itis either a rack or runningwalk, not foxtrot. Since a trot by definition is simultaneous set down of a hind and opposite fore and therefore requires both front and rears, it is impossible to trot on only fronts or rears. Paso Fino and Peruvian Paso gaits--Again, I've ridden a Peruvian once and seen several Paso Finos; lateral gait; very smooth; they have names for several different pacing-type gaits; they tend to 'paddle' their front feet; less pronounced head bob The Peruvian Paso's paso llano gait has timing essential equivilent to running walk although may tend toward a rack. The sobreandando is a stepping pace (broken pace). The horse overstrides (or at least caps) but to a smaller degree than a RW. The "paddling" (termino) in the Peruvian originates in the shoulder and is a desired (within reason). Paso Finos generally do not exhibit termino and it is not desired (there is a limited amount of Peruvian blood in some Paso Finos and there are a few Peruvians that are cross registered - PF registry no longer permits this and the Peruvian Registries never allowed PFs). If anyone can elaborate or correct me, like I said, I'm not an expert. It's been a long time since I sold my Singlefooter mare. She would rack when 'psyched up', running walk when shod heavy in front, singlefoot in the pasture and on trail. My Morgan gelding's sire was also a registered racking horse. He made the difference between rack and singlefoot obvious. He did both beautifully. Both my mare and gelding did well in distance sports. It should also be noted that no gait is 'pure' - If you could measure accurately enough, even with the best trot hooves never land exactly simultaneously or with the best RW land with exactly even timing. There is a continuum from one gait to another and the line where the gait changes from one to the other can be somewhat arbritrary. If you are interested in more, go over to the "gaitedhorse" list at yahoo groups and pay particular attention to Lee Ziegler. It should also be noted that many of these horse (particularly walkers) do a stepping pace. Show standards have encouraged this and most horses will tend toward the pace when pressed for speed. Duncan Fletcher dfletche@xxxxxxx =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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