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Re: [RC] [RC] Dumb TWH Question? - Soli SorokinI got my first gaited horse almost a year ago, and have been making the rounds locally to learn all I can about them. I now own two, plus the arab. Most folks around here in Tennessee ride gaited horses, and perfectly good horses that aren't gaited get given away for nothing....anyhow... Gaited horses can and do trot, but the prevailing "wisdom" seems to be to not allow them to do so, as it is believed that allowing this makes it harder to keep them in the smooth gait. I know that different muscle sets are used for the trot (a square gait) and most of the smooth gaits, (which I believe are lateral). Now, my own thoughts on the matter are, if we can train a horse to walk, trot, canter, gallop, and stop when we ask it to, why can't we train a few extra gaits (if the horse has them), also? As someone who doesn't mind a trot (it helps keep me in shape, to a degree), I like the idea of having both options available to me and the horse. That said, my TWH colt almost never trots. He doesn't want to, it's just not natural to him....it's all rack, pace, and running walk with him. My new TWH mare, on the other hand, trots, paces, performs the running walk and rack. She seems to do all of them with equal ease, although when in her paddock she mostly trots or does the running walk. I'd like to get her to a point in her training that she will do each when asked...she's only 4 so we have some time. ~S On 5/29/05, Nancy Sturm <nsturm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Truman's post prompted me to humble myself and ask what is probably a dumb question. I have my first gaited horse, a tough little TWH gelding. He would like to trot. I love nothing better than a horse with a nice ground-covering trot, but I sort of thought it was not okay for a TWH to trot. Will it inhibit his ability to gait if he also trots? He's a slab-sided little guy, and after I got over feeling like I was riding a broomstick, I realized my aging hips and knees no longer hurt when I ride. I may never be able to ride a well-sprung horse again! Nancy Sturm and Hunter, equine ATV =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 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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