Gaited Horse People

[lantairvlea]

I don't mean to offend, but I've noticed some things about "Gaited Horse People." Of course, the same thing could probably be said of most anyone who is glued to a single breed or type. My mom also falls under the category of being a "Gaited Person

Comments

[candysgirl]

Yeah, my boy will stand half asleep by the gate. I typically have to lope a circle to wake him up a little before we break the timer before a run. After a run, we walk to cool down a bit and he's back to nap land. Yeah...he's a wee bit lazy... My fiance's QHs are the wackos! They rear and act like fools before entering the gate.

For sure, its not just QH people, there are idiots in every discipline that would rather gadget their horse to death than actually train it to move properly.

When I was breaking out my boy last year (3yo Arab, stud colt at the time) I was constantly asked what I was using to train him. Ummm, a halter with some reins clipped to it? That blew their minds. Also the fact that I took the better part of a year to actually expect much from him. I rode him bareback with a halter for the first 3 months. Then we added a saddle. Three months later we added an actual bitted bridle - nice fat little French link, thank you. The fact that my horse will stop if I raise the reins past a certain point (no pulling needed), off my weigh shifting back to a certain point, OR the word "woah" anytime, anywhere boggles their minds.

[lantairvlea]

He sounds like an awesome little horse. When Kash is worked regularly he's awesome, though even coming back from time off it doesn't take too much to settle him. He didn't have superb training (if much at all) his first six years before I got a hold of him, but very trainable so long as you treat him fairly (start kicking and he'll stop, yank on his face? he doesn't like that).

I don't know why people stand that type of behavior in their horses. I don't care how fast it is or how well it does a particular job, it needs to be well-behaved!

*Laughs.* That's what I'm doing with Cinnamon Strudel right now. Halter with some reins snapped on. She hasn't even had a half dozen rides on her yet, but she's completely chill with the weight of rider and saddle and is figuring out the riding cues (stopping is definitely more confirmed than going at the moment, but I don't mind that).

[candysgirl]

He totally rocks. No one at the QH shows seemed to comprehend the going slow concept. Really, I plan to keep him until he dies. What's the rush? He's 4 this year. He can complete an intro level dressage test. We've not shown, but I'm told we'd make a fair showing despite having ZERO pro training. Its all been me with the occasional help from a cowboy friend of mine. He can run a barrel pattern, although we don't do it often since I don't want to wreck his joints. He can trail ride although we haven't totally mastered water crossings - at the beginning of the summer he was fit enough to complete a 25mi ride (he's been sitting in a pasture for the last 3 months though so...yeah...fat pony!). And we can jump a small course (vet cleared him to go over 18" or less).

Fast is slow, I say. The more I think "I have all the time in the world", the faster he learns stuff. And once its there, its *there*. I never drill on anything once he gets it. We'll revisit it every now and again, and perhaps build upon it, but we don't EVER drill. And ya know what? I don't have a horse that wrings his tail or acts pissy or objects to 99% of the things I ask him to do even if they seem pointless or weird or potentially scary to him. Drag that huge tree limb? Sure mom, no problem. Carry that giant thing you can't carry? Sure mom, no problem. Stand by a farris wheel after dark with lots of blinky lights? Sure mom, no problem. Hop on bareback and fool around in the pasture with just a rope halter after 3 months off? Sure mom, no problem.

I don't know, it doesn't bother my fiance at all. I *can* ride that out, but why?! They've gotten progressively worse too over the two years I've known him/them. He doesn't care. They trail ride beautifully and they're fast as hell once *in* the gate, but getting there is generally spectacular. *Shrug* they're his horses...

I firmly believe that too. I don't give a hoot WHAT brain melting activity is going on around us. He is to behave himself. Ya know what? I had a 3yo stud colt that could be led by a five year old. He was the only horse on the farm that the BO's grandson was allowed to be around. INCLUDING HIS OWN PONY!!!!! As a 4yo gelding, he's even better.

Don't get me wrong, we still have idiot 4yo moments where he decides something like the white painted line on the road that he's been walking next to for the last 2 hours is suddenly going to eat him or that puddles and creeks contain horse eating dragons, but he's pretty damn good for being the first horse I've ever trained start to finish by myself and I've had very little outside help.

Oh yeah, don't treat him unfairly. He's still stallion enough that he'll escalate things to epic battles. Fair corrections are fine. Unfair ones, not so much.

[lantairvlea]

Again I agree! I can ride a horse that's being a nutcase, but I sure don't want to if I can avoid it!

"Taking the time that it takes, takes less time." or something like that. It definitely works!

I'm sure he'll care if he ever gets hurt by that behavior. And as you have observed, it is only going to get worse because the horses haven't been taught how to handle themselves.

Kash was a stallion until he was 5 (or so I was told) and if you follow him into his occasional challenging behavior (or worse, encourage it) you will also have an epic battle, but if you just quietly continue to ask he settles right out. I've had people tell me he's the quietest and calmest Arab they've ever met, though. Age has helped a bit too.

Sounds like you've done a fantastic job on him. I think that's how all horses should be trained, though with the focus on events and things (especially futurities) you get a ton of burn-out and break-down that you wouldn't have otherwise. I personally think that horses shouldn't really be pushed in showing until they're five, but that's me. Schooling shows and stuff to get them exposed, sure, but not this hard competition that they push them into at two and three. They need to have some time to be horses!