I nSTRUCTION

In order to get a to properly, he has to be collected. In order to collect a horse, he has to have and be soft and supple T rAINING Tip: through his entire body. If you teach your When Starting the horse those two things, you can get him to Method, Don’t Focus gait with just two fingers on the reins. What on the Gait happens though is people get on that When gaited horse owners start the have no impulsion and can’t get the horse to Fundamentals with their horses, walk let alone gait or they get on a horse that they often get hung up on trying to tries to run through the . Instead of being fix their horse’s gait immediately or able to collect the horse and gait, they’re too focus too much on what gait the horse busy trying to get the horse to go forward or is in. Remember, it’s a horse first and always pulling on his mouth, trying to hold gaited second. Until there’s a solid him . The more they pull on the bit to foundation on your horse, don’t worry hold him back, the more the horse hollows about getting him to gait correctly. out his back and leans against the bit. Getting It’d be like worrying about a snag in a horse to gait doesn’t have to be, nor should your car’s upholstery when the rear it be a pulling contest. tire axel is falling off. It’s far more important to fix the tire axel than Cantering is especially good for gaited to worry about a minor detail like a horses because it teaches them to have blemish in the upholstery that has rhythm. Most gaited horses struggle in no effect on your safety or the car’s this area; they look like they’ve got eight performance. thousand legs going every which way. They don’t understand how to be responsible for So when you’re working on the their feet or stay in the gait you set them Fundamentals groundwork and riding at. They’re constantly slowing down, or exercises, whenever an exercise calls speeding up and changing from gait to for the horse to , it doesn’t matter gait. By putting a lot of miles under their if he , paces or . As long as he feet, especially at the canter, it teaches does something between a walk and them to hold a consistent rhythm and to be a canter, that’s all you’re looking for. responsible for holding their own impulsion. It’s sort of like worrying about what Myth #2 Every horse is capable the horse is on when you start of gaiting well. the Method with him. We completely ignore leads until the horse is broke Just like every person in the world isn’t enough that we can effectively start capable of the 100 meter sprint like working on it. Initially, we just teach Usain Bolt, not every gaited horse has the him to canter. The same theory same level of ability to perform his given applies here. You have to weigh the gaits. A horse’s ability to gait comes down to priorities. Even though getting the genetics, conformation and mind. A saying I horse to gait is our end goal, until the like to use is “horses for courses and people horse is broke, it’s at the bottom of our for horses.” Not every horse is suitable or has priority list. the desire to do what he’s bred for or what you want him to do. You’re not going to take a cutting horse and expect him to gait just like you’re not going to take a barrel racer If your horse is out of a Tennessee Walker by and turn him into a world champion Western an who was out of a Shetland pony pleasure horse. As a breeder of performance crossed with a , he isn’t going to horses, I face this reality every year. Just have the natural ability to gait like a purebred because I breed two horses that were Tennessee Walker. It’s like you could be the outstanding in a given discipline, it doesn’t greatest sculptor in the world, but if I gave mean their offspring are going to have any you a shelly piece of marble to work with that talent or desire to compete in that discipline. cracked every time you started shaping it,

Summer 2013 - No worries Journal 107