The Gaited Horse Bible: Training & Riding Naturally Gaited Horses

About this book

Riding training and caring for gaited horses requires special training techniques and this comprehensive instructional manual thoroughly explains the ins and outs of working more humanely and effectively with every kind of gaited horse including Paso Finos Tennessee Walking Horses and Missouri Fox Trotters. The basic tenets of this guides philosophy include proper hoofcare appropriate bitting correct saddle-fitting and an educated riding style for optimizing the horses natural gaits. These techniques will prevent back hock and stifle problems as well as solve common nagging problems in performance and behavior resulting in the happy relationship that both the rider and horse deserve. The "gaited horse"one bred and trained to perform smooth-to-ride ground-covering alternative gaits (not the trot/jog or canter/lope) that can often be sustained long distances and sometimes at astounding speedshas steadily gained mainstream popularity as a pleasure or trail mount in addition to its traditional status as a top-notch show-ring competitor. While generations of careful breeding have instilled a natural ability to "gait" in certain breedsincluding American Saddlebreds Tennessee Walking Horses Peruvian Horses Paso Finos Icelandic Horses among othersthe "smooth saddle gaits" are not necessarily automatic. This means that riders whether exploring the backcountry or vying for a championship ribbon need to train their gaited horse to be able to perform and then school him to perform well consistently and without doing damage to his body. "The best person to develop your gaited horses smooth saddle gaits is you!" writes renowned gaited-horse trainer and clinician Brenda Imus in The Gaited Horse Bible.. "You need to learn only a few basic principles to develop and maintain your horses gaits. As you do you will build an important relationship with him (as well as saving trainers fees). Its a win-win situation all the way around."Imus begins by providing the simplest clearest explanation of the "Gait Spectrum" youll find: whether a gait is "diagonal " "lateral " or "intermediate" ("square"); what is desirable in "form " speed and footfall and what can be detrimental to a horses well-being. A discussion of gaited horse breeds (their history characteristics and uses) and gaits (running walk rack fox trot tolt trocha for example) is followed by an in-depth study of conformation movement and soundness: How your horse is built affects both his gait orientation and his gaiting longevityyou need to understand how angles of the forehand and hindquarters length and depth of bone loin coupling and overall balance contribute to his ability to perform gaits and perform them well over the course of his lifetime. Year-by-year basic trainingfrom yielding in-hand to obtaining a correct flat walk under saddleand advanced schoolingincluding flexion collection and lateral work to improve natural gaiting abilityis broken down into useful instruction that anyone can put into practice. A superb problem-solving section features simple exercises for alleviating common behavioral problems such as rushing spooking or being herd bound or barn sour; ways to avoid and correct physical issues such as a locking stifle or sway back; and techniques for fixing deviations in a horses smooth gaits including stumbling forging pacing and "slick trotting." With a summary of bridles bits saddle fit and back dynamics as well as optimal shoeing and trimming for gaited horses The Gaited Horse Bible is the perfect how-to package for every gaited horse rider and owner.