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[RC] re: TWH question-fix the gait - Sue WalzI'm not an expert on gaited horses by any means. I ride Odom's Raven, a Kentucky Mtn Horse. I never thought of his pacing as bad! In endurance I find it an asset to have him move from 4 beat to pace to trot. I think that's what makes him a 100 miler. He has variety in gait & doens't wear himself out! His pace is an amazing ground covering gait! I just stand in the stirrups & let him fly! I train him barefoot & compete that way when possible. If I have to shoe, I use the plastic lightweight shoes. I'm going to try the EasyWalkers soon: http://www.easywalkerhorseshoes.com I would NEVER use weighted shoes! That would be totally counterproductive to endurance! Lighter is better almost all the way around in our sport. Raven's gaiting better than ever in his natural state, barefoot. ~Sue Walz & Raven Being here in the good ole south, the real south that is, I have= come across many TWH trainer people, show barns, shows, casual= riders, etc. And, a fair number of shoers too. Even the gaited= mule folks too. Yeah, I went to the Columbia mule show in= Columbia, TN just a bit ago. That was really quite fun to see. = The mini mules are so cute, there were mules everywhere, oops= off the topic here. Gait. cough (clearing my throat) Bottom line on what they all say on TWH as to gaiting, trotting,= pacing. This applies to other gaited horses too, and I would= think it does. Some pace, and some gait, and some trot too. They should gait **100%** of the time when not walking, like a= casual walk. When they walk they should *not* ever ever pace. = Pacing is VERY bad. Of course, this is for when they are in a= bridle. Not wanting to start the wicked bits they wear= discussions. Focus on the gait thing. This is gait only,= assume you are riding normal, like all endurance riders do. If they tend to pace, then weight the hind feet. If they tend to trot, then weight the front feet. If they gait 100% then do whatever to their feet. Shoe, or= barefoot. Weight means to put heavier shoes on their feet. Either in the= front or the back, but not both. The weight is at the toe of= the shoe. I have seen them and touched them and lifted many of= those type shoes. They make many many different types of= weighted shoes. Sell them everywhere it seems. Or maybe= everywhere I see them for sale. I could give you a couple= places to get them if you want. These are not the normal shoes.= Some are light, and some I have lifted must weigh 10#'s each. = Seriously. They mean business in the TWH industry, and they= want those horses to gait not pace, nor trot. Laura T Very north AL, like 2 miles from the TN border. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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