For anyone totally mystified by what a quality horse looks like…
Nov 21 2007
Here you go! Holiday special on Craigslist. I am sure it is just adorable. And it is supposed to look like a yak! 
Baby Yak
Reply to: sale-485330322@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-11-20, 10:33PM
Lilly is a beautiful, 6-month-old baby female yak that is exceptionally friendly from bottle feeding and handling. Well bred from a great bull and mother. Will only sell to qualified buyer.
Location: Issaquah
108 comments to “For anyone totally mystified by what a quality horse looks like…”
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Good thing it’s only to qualified buyers. Some redneck idiot would probably try to buy it and breed it to their already fugly Yakaloosateke to creat another “sport horse” breed.
Im sure this ad has already been around ……but look at this yellow yak that is in-foal!
http://dreamhorse.com/show_horse.php?form_horse_id=1111922
Wow, that Palomino has an interesting set of genetics…a photo of her baby:
More gazelle than yak, really
Couldn’t see/click on the link to the first posted yak….???
Am a newbie and already love this blog!!!
educational, as well as fun!
Sorry, no picture of baby yak. Bet it’s cute though!
I hope the gazelle is peeing and is not just built like that!
yakaloosateke
love it !
I want a fjorwalkaloosarabresian
My Nepalese friend tells me that if it’s a female, it’s a “nak.” A “yak” is a male. Sort of like a cow and a bull. There’s your trivia for the day.
Ouch…that gazelle baby hurts my eyes.That breastcollar on it is doing alot of good.
My Nepalese friend tells me that if it’s a female, it’s a “nak.” A “yak” is a male. Sort of like a cow and a bull. There’s your trivia for the day.
I hope the gazelle is peeing and is not just built like that!
I have to laugh at that. I followed my little fugly around the mucky pasture for about an hour once trying to get him to stand up properly…”properly” in my mind being the parked-out Arabian show stance. He FINALLY did it…hence the creation of my famous “Muddy Pinto, Peeing” photograph.
Posted again here, to show both my prowess at grooming, and ability to judge horsey “beauty”
Fabulous.
That breastcollar on it is doing alot of good.
It’s probably just there so a little kid can get their boot caught on it.
Hehehe,
Here’s another “sale” shot of the fugliest little pinto.
Honest trail pony and jumper, been through rivers, lakes and streams. LOVES THE WATER!
Hmmm, I guess I just prefer riding my ‘camel’…although a yak might be ok too….I’m not picky!
*too see a great shot of my camel, just click on the pic to the right
Say, izze90:
RE the yellow, pregnant Yak:
For an extra $100, can I please buy that poor mare a hip?? Sheesh!
Sarcastabitch,
I love the way that pinto has the “no way am I stepping in that puddle” look, even though he *loves* the water.
I can’t see the original yak ad either… but oh well, its not like I’m going to buy it.
Wow… showing a horse peeing in a sale pic would be a selling point for me. LOL. J/k.
Why DO people post pictures of geldings/stallions dropped, however? I try to avoid that in photos.
“That breastcollar on it is doing alot of good.
It’s probably just there so a little kid can get their boot caught on it.”
Dammit, Sarcastabitch–I actually DID need my sinuses cleared out–but not by snorting cold Orange Crush Soda up through them and all over my monitor!!
>>My Nepalese friend tells me that if it’s a female, it’s a “nak.” A “yak” is a male. Sort of like a cow and a bull. There’s your trivia for the day< <
And people say this blog isn’t educational!
Totally OT but has anyone used the Carmelyx for their horses or the Vitality Equine Block? I am looking into them both and wanted to know the difference from a consumer standpoint.I am in the south and with the drought thought that my 2 young GELDINGS and soon to be geriatric gelding, might need a lift through the winter even though they are currently on Safechoice and some beet pulp. Any thoughts or suggestions can be sent to me directly at thejaybird2001@yahoo.com
Thanks!
Awwww, I wanna see the baby Yak. A Yak that’s supposed to look like a Yak. LOL
sarcastabitch said…
Wow, that Palomino has an interesting set of genetics…a photo of her baby:
I think that horse came out with springs instead of pasterns! That definitely was an interesting science fiction experiment with that breeding!
izze90 said…
Im sure this ad has already been around ……but look at this yellow yak that is in-foal!
November 21, 2007 11:52 AM
_______________________________
What the Hell is a Racking Horse (sorry I have no clue seriously)? Are they supposed to be assless? Weird.
That really does look like a nice Yak… Oh it is a Yak…
What the Hell is a Racking Horse (sorry I have no clue seriously)?
Hehehe, you’re gonna love this.
It is a horse that racks.
Honestly. Any horse that exhibits the racking gait can be registered as a racking horse.
Hey Sarcasta:
I have a gelding whose trot is so rough, if you don’t post, you WILL get “racked” (assuming, of course, that you are a guy).
Do you think I can get his “racking horse” papers?
(Seriously, I do know what a racking horse is, but I couldn’t resist!)
Thanks so much. That clears it right up. LOL
I’ve heard the term Racking Horse, but I know jack about them. Why don’t they have asses??
I have a gelding whose trot is so rough, if you don’t post, you WILL get “racked” (assuming, of course, that you are a guy).
Do you think I can get his “racking horse” papers?
I think so. You will have to send in photos from the side, front and rear, and capture the gait in a still.
We are a very serious registry and accept only the best you know!
Are you kidding me?
http://www.rackinghorse.com/aboutus.htm
I’m sorry this is off topic, but I just need a moment to vent… I have a horse up for sale. He is for sale because I don’t have a lot of extra time right now and I figure if the right home comes along I’ll get more time to work my other two. I am not a motivated seller. I have plenty of hay and extra money to keep all three of my horses, but by the time I feed, clean, turnout, and groom all three (not in that order) I have no time to ride even one of them! So anyways, I have him listed on a couple websites. What is making me crazy however is that people do not seem to read my ad… I’ve changed my ad because I though before maybe the description was just too long and people didn’t read it all. Now it is a short, concise paragraph, as specific as I can make it, and still I get people e-mailing and calling me asking me if he cribs (says very specifically that he does in the ad), and best of all, mothers looking for a horse for their 9 year beginner, who’s been taking weekly lessons for a bit less than a year. Now I say in the ad he is about a 5 in temperament and suitable for a confident adult or teenager, riding at about an intermediate level. He is not nuts, but he is a 16.1 hand, 7 year old thoroughbred. I think he is fun and I do think he would probably work fine for even a beginner as long as they are confidence and have some sense (and a good instructor willing to offer them guidance). I had a very nice 13 year old girl come out and look at him. She had been riding for a bit over two years, and she was having a great time cantering him all over the ring, and happily popping him over low jumps. She was very confident and able to control him easily at the faster speeds. Captain isn’t crazy but he’s no plug, and I do not imply that he is anywhere in that ad! Why is it that at least 60% of the responses I get on him is someone looking for a beginner horse for their young child (young = 7-11)? I am just going to have to put in the ad he is not suitable for young children, not that anybody will read that!
http://www.zzstar.com/standard_view.php?ad_id=91502
It’s an belarafjord!
(I actually think she’s kind of cute, just an odd mix of breeds…)
Ok, I went to the Racking Horse Breeders website and actually wimpered a little bit when the page opened. The website looks like a video poker website with crappy horses stomping around all over the place. Aren’t there enough breeds for people who like to put 6 inch pads and chains on their horses’ feet and run around in top hats?
sarcastabitch…..I’ll admit your tobiano is fugly, but he gets points for cuteness!
Scaperjess,
The big long paragraph that you posted here was difficult for me to read. Try using short paragraphs with spaces in between.
If you post the ad here, maybe others could help you work out the kinks, but the fact is, people just don’t read! I would make sure that I fully dissect a sale ad before inquiring to the seller, but there are a lot of silly people out there.
People say “experienced rider only” all the time in ads, and no one ever seems to get it because the word “experienced” is really subjective. We all know as horse people that one person’s beginner is another person’s expert. You might say “not suitable for children under 14″, or something to that effect.
Good luck,
Mary
“Why DO people post pictures of geldings/stallions dropped, however? I try to avoid that in photos.”
Hey Colorisn’teverything, I would ask that question to our bestial pal, big Tom from Laughing Horse Sankchewaireeee…(snerk!!!….).
A racking horse is a cull of the walking horse. It’s a walking horse that can’t “walk”!
And it’s the Alabama state horse! Go figure!
More trivia for you!
izze90 said…
sarcastabitch…..I’ll admit your tobiano is fugly, but he gets points for cuteness!
He’s adorable…but also the perfect example of why, when you buy your first horse, you should LISTEN to the experienced horse person you brought with you.
Honestly though, great, great little horse that I love to pieces. He probably makes similar comments to his horse friends about me: “man, did you see what she wore to the barn yesterday? I swear, if she didn’t bring oats, I wouldn’t even come to the fence, you know?”
Mary,
Thank you!
I’ll break it up next time to make it easier to comprehend
Here is the ad text:
Captain has been off the race track for three years now; he has been retrained and is now used for English showing and trail riding. He ties well to trailers and behaves well in new settings. He would be best suited for an intermediate teenaged rider looking for 4-H/pony club horse, or for an adult rider looking to buy that trail buddy or first horse. He is sensitive to his rider, and will respond to very light cues. He is good for the vet, and the farrier. Captain is a cribber, but aside from that has no other vices. He has been kept up to date on all shots, and has a coggins test dated January of this year. He will go to a good home only; seller may request references prior to sale.
It’s not that Concise but I’m afraid if I take anymore out I’ll get even more people who are not a match contacting me…
I had one person e-mail me and I told her he would not be a match for what she was looking for. She would not take no for an answer, and she wanted more pictures and asked a bunch more questions. She kept e-mailing me for a couple weeks with more questions…
Non of the answers fit what she wanted of course, but she thought he was cute and I guess was determined to make him work! I try and save people the trouble by asking right off what they want in a horse… He just was not right!
tsk tsk frankengelding,
You just gave me something to be thankful for…. I’m thankful my tea didn’t just land on my keyboard.
Very funny!
Here’s a video of a very cool racking horse. My TWH prefers racking over walking and it’s really kinda entertaining to ride.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DytqyLjJd0A
OK–maybe it’s just me–but that looks fun. Gotta be at least as entertaining as those crazy Arabian costume classes!
I thought my TWH mare could rack fast until I saw these youtube videos. Wow! 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SYgl5APFHA&feature=related
the rack is a specific TYPE of gait found in gaited horses….. there are also horses known as Racking horses, as they perform this gait naturally. i hope this helps. “How to Ride the Rack
The Rack is often called also called the single-foot, for when it’s performed properly there’s lots of animation and only one foot on the ground at certain points of the footfalls. This means the Racking Horse is supporting his weight on one leg at a time, and flexing up and down at the lumbar-sacral junction. Most all symmetrical gaits have the same sequence, or order of footfall. What makes them vary is the timing of footfall, the pick up and the support sequence.”
scaperjess,
I am having the exact same problem.
I think that people just don’t bother to read the ad, no matter what you put in there!
I’ve gotten quite a few responses, but I haven’t even bothered to write back on quite a few, simply because it’s obvious they didn’t read the ad, and it’s not a good match.
Scary, really.
I’m not sure what I can do to be more clear, either.
I’m not in any hurry, which is a good thing, because I have a feeling it’s going to be a LONG process…as in months and months!
Well, here is your dose of Happy for the day. A feel good rescue story
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=10836
Holy crap. Did anyone notice in the ad for the palomino “racking horse” mare that she is 9 years old and has had SIX foals. And she is preganant with #7! Absolutely ridiculos.
colorisnteverything,
I received a promotional dvd for an Arab stallion I was looking at. It’s no secret that most photographers/videographers use mares to get the most from a stallion shoot. In the dvd I received, the stallion was shown for 3 mins. 46 sec. (yes . . . I timed it) trotting along the fence line with his equipment out, ready for action, and slapping his belly side to side as he trotted along. I had no idea what to say when thay asked how I liked the dvd.
Horsepoor,
Thank you for the complement on my stallion that ftfotb posted. He is my pride and joy. Email me or call me. Where are you located? You are welcome to come by and see him anytime.
>>What is making me crazy however is that people do not seem to read my ad… < <
Or look at the pictures. I sold a swaybacked, very safe teenaged mare for a friend this year. EVEN WITH PICTURES, good, CLEAR, full body from the side pictures, people came out and gave me a dismayed look and said “she’s really swaybacked!”
No! REALLY? OMG. Do you suppose that is why the ad SAID she was and PICTURED her, so that you might not waste my time? But no, you didn’t let that stop you!
I knew I had a serious buyer when they showed up with (a) their trainer and (b) a trailer. They took her home that day.
*snort* I can top that. I had a horse for sale, advertised as being sticked at 15.3hh.
Two people convinced me via email that they could be good matches. The mare was perfectly behaved for both of them and their trainers. They both eventually passed because she was “perfect but too tall”.
I’m sorry–I didn’t realize you wanted a 15.3hh PONY! Argh.
Hi all, this is a continuation of last night’s thread since we are on a new one tonight… First of all, if you are going to reply to a post make sure you have read all the comments and have done your homework before telling someone that their horse is not worth what they are asking…. My reply to Stacy on where she lives is because she was asking 6500 for a young horse with little training and I thought she probably was from the East. She never told me my horse was listed too high. Also, I enjoy criticism, especially when I asked for the help. But, get the facts straight from the post before commenting, please! My horse has been in Professional training for 2 years, she was Reserve Champion out of 105 rounds at an A Jumper show. The only one she has been to. She has numerous champions, reserves, 1sts, 2nds, and others from things as diverse as walk/trot, Pleasure Horse junior/adults, Open Hunter,jumping 3’6, She was year end 5th in Green Hunter out of 30 regular members in a very competitive division with limited showing… As I have stated…she mastered level 1 dressage with her prior owners with scores in the 70′s, she is not an OTTB, I also said that was 1 of her strong points and she was broken at age 3, and is not behind? in her training at all(that 1 kills my she’s 8 and jumps 3’6 regularly,) I have had her 2 years, she was trained in other disciplines before I bought her, I am a Hunter/jumper. That has been what she has been working on for the last 2 years. The girl riding her in the video is a professional Grand Prix rider/trainer, I had said the video is over a year old and Brandi was fast that day. I paid 7500 for her, and with all I see without any training, that they are asking 8,10,12 thousand for, I believe 10,000 is a fair price.Especially when I know that her training has cost me more than 10,000 alone. No I havent sold her yet, but I havent really even marketed her, she is half-leased by a 10 yr old girl, so I havent been in a rush. I bought my daughter a 3yr old Hanoverian this summer as well, and he was 20,000, with VERY limited training(green broke).He has an excellent pedigree, and will be a Hunter supreme in a couple years. That is the only reason I am selling her. And what about her disposition! She has a perfect disposition, crabby said she could have a better disposition? I have no idea where she got her information, but that was not constructive criticism,( see yesterdays blog near the end) those comments were just mean-spirited and not deserved. I also mentioned that around here auto changes, which Brandi does, adds 8-10,000 to the price,(per the trainers in my area). I want people to honestly critque my horse and maybe she isnt worth 10,000 but I just want all the facts known, not made up. Thanks for listening lol. (off my soapbox now)
Frakengelding, I just about spot all my milk out on the computer!
Lynne, that would be unnerving. Why? Why would anyone want to watch that? Any time I have seen that happening, I feel terrible for the boy that is running around. It can’t exactly feel excellent. I didn’t know they used mares for that sort of thing. It does make sense, but it could create some interesting shots. Perhaps you should send that video to our friends at the LH? They would probably get a kick out of it.
oooh god… yall got me started on teh racking horses.
this will be long… skip it if you want to, LOL
so they have ‘inspectors’ who will, (for a price i assume) inspect your horse and determine if it gaits. and sign your papers to send in to the racking horse association.
now having met an inspector in Georgia, i can tell you it is full of crap. this all occurred years ago.
after showing me around his ‘facility’, complete with rocky uneven arena,a few padded horses,long LONG cracked feet on some (did i mention this dude is a ‘master journeyman farrier’ too?) chains and the like, this man insisted that i try out his ‘big stud’ (a black and white spotted assless, long-toed racking horse who will breed whatever as long as the owner has 200 bucks )
YAKS ALL AROUND!!!
i said i didn’t really like gaited horses, to which he replies, oh he canters too! i had so and so (a local ‘trainer’)train him. he can do flying lead changes blah blah blah….
so he saddles him up (complete in 70′s era conchoed black parade tack)and he gets on to show off his pride and joy before i try him.
no warm up at all, straight from the stall where he was tacked to the rock strewn arena and kicked into a fast rack, feet flying everywhere, and fatso the ‘expert horseman’ hanging on by that horses mouth.
i’m like geez… what next?
next was the canter… another kick and the horse did canter, but he was on teh wrong lead. and mr. expert didn’t correct him. he appeared not to notice in fact. LOL.
when he turned him and went teh other way, same lead… leading me to believe he had no idea what a lead is!
so then he parks him out and was like, well, you wanna try him? so, god help me i did. i got on, and he had the hardest mouth i’ve ever felt, and he had no idea what leg pressure is. i wouldn’t canter him on those rocks…
i felt real bad for the horse… mouth of lead, fatso ‘expert’ bouncing like mad all over (i thought racking horses were supposed to be smooth?)
and THEN fatso has teh NERVE to start telling me what I was doing wrong! “your feet are too far back. hold your hands higher, support his head with the reins” stuff like that…*sigh*
the only reason i was there was to see a pony my mom was interested in for my nephew. but as soon as i mentioned i had a mare at home, he was all over me… never mind that she is a QUARTER HORSE! he dug out a book of his studs babies’ pictures, trying to impress me *sigh* as if i’d want to breed her to teh assless wonder.
oh! and teh pony was a fairly nice backyard kind of pony… but that man’s whole demeanor sent off major warning bells.. so i put him off by saying i’d have to talk to my mom again, and i’d call that weekend. i showed up unannounced the next day instead, and sure enough, they had drugged that pony for my visit!
TOTALLY DIFFERENT BEHAVIOR! in fact he ran my husband (not a horse person, so perfect to try a pony for a kid) through a swingset!
this person tried to sell a crazy pony for a 8 year old inexperienced child!
so i have NO USE for the whole “racking horse clan’ around here!
have yall seen this? it’s a link on that fugly palomino mares site:
http://www.apbhorseregistry.com/
Great..so there’s a grade horse registry AND a part blood horse registry.Why don’t they combine and just call it the fugly horse registry!
look at the feet on this one! *gag*
http://www.w-bstables.com/
winddrifterasti.htm
Shadow–Thanks for the post. He’s aptly named! IIRC, “mensch” is Yiddish for a decent, upstanding human being. Or, in his case, a humane being. (I’m not Jewish; anyone who knows better, please correct me if I’m wrong!)
Crunchberry, what you encountered is a whole other kind of fugly that exists in the horse world–and it’s what makes true lovers of gaited breeds cringe and mumble when asked what type of horses they ride.
Seriously, all you folks who were kinda getting on the racking horses–don’t judge the breed(s) by what they’ve suffered at the hands of humans.
For a long time, I despised QH’s, because all I’d ever seen were the spoiled bratty contest kids jetting around on them, arms flapping and hats flying, and the idiot adults who were even worse, yeehawing in delight while demonstrating the worst horsemanship I’d witnessed to date…
Since, I’ve seen there are good QH’s who are athletic, sensible, and kind, and folks who can and do ride them with talent and sensitivity.
The exact same thing applies with gaited horses. There are those who ride with good basic horsemanship, dressage-based exercises and principles, and the horses are kind, willing, round, and rack smoothly in an athletic manner.
What you saw, Crunchberry is the gaited yeehaw, who has NO EFFING CLUE how to ride, so therefore he’s come up with all sorts of gimmicky things that force his poor miserable horse into a hollow frame, jarring rack that is hard on both horse and rider, not to mention on educated eyes, watching it.
Literally, these folks shove their feet forward in an extreme “chair” position, shove down on the stirrups (horse hollows his back to evade the pain and pressure) and that hollow position encourages the lateral aspect of the gaits to emerge (i.e. a rack instead of a trot).
Duh. It might take months or years to build muscle and athleticism to actually TRAIN a racking horse to go soft, forward, and round–or at least neutral–and rack. Why mess with all that when you can shove your feet a certain way, crank a huge shank in the horse’s mouth, hang on fer dear life, and YEEHAW BREED SOME MARES!!!
Sorry to go on so long. Might be a “cause” of mine, heh.
Check out, if interested FOSH (Friends of Sound Horses) and The National Walking Horse Association, for folks who are at least moving towards correct riding of these kind and lovely animals–the decently bred ones, with asses, that is.
P.S. I pity the soon-to-be-dead fool who EVER tries to put “pads” or chains, or weighted “plantation” shoes
on my gaited horses
I want a yak, they are sooooo cute
saw them at the Western National Livestock Show a few years ago….
Crunchberry’s mom….
I normally only lurk but your post triggered too many memories
I have to ask what the breeding to your “Crunchberry” is…I used to go to school in Georgia, and the school I went to had an equine program, breeding predominantly AQHA at the time though I’ve heard they moved into Warmbloods…Anyway, had a cute buckskin filly that was named Crunchberry and well, I was just curious!
I just want to mention that if you go back to the Craigslist posting they actually have a pic of the Yak up. It’s really quite cute and furry.
sarcastabitch-that muddy peeing photo almost sent the cofee through my nose.
There seems to be a lot of gaited horse people here. I have searched the internet and youtube for answers to these questions, but I still don’t understand. I don’t get the chance to see many gaited horses, they aren’t all that popular in this region…SO
Is the “rack” the same as the “running walk”?
Is the “rack” the same as the “foxtrot” or “singlefoot”?
What do you call the sort of running walk that Peruvian Pasos do? Is it a “rack” except with the funny paddling they do?
When you say a racking horse is a reject Tennessee Walker, what is the gait that they are SUPPOSED to do called? How does it differ from the rack?
The only gaited horse I have ever ridden was a Peruvian Paso. He would walk, a real four-beat walk, but he paddled his feet out…and he wanted nothing more than to pick up his VERY FAST running-walk, which was incredibly smooth. He could also do a two-beat trot, that I wouldn’t dream of posting, and then he’d break into a canter…a proper canter on the right lead.
fatchick-
Good call! I’m posting the link here since it was kinda hard to track down (for me anyways… unless there was a link I didn’t see from the original post)
Baby Yak
Damn that muddy peeing pinto is cute.
I think the gaited stuff is largely voodoo.
After years of WB and TB, I ended up with an Icelandic (amazing little horse), and while I know the Icelandic gaits and how conformation affects gait I still can’t quite get my brain around the different gaits in the different gaited (non-Icelandic) breeds and how they, um, differ, but Lee Ziegler does an admirable job of trying to explain it here:
http://www.gaitedhorses.net/LeeZiegler
/WORKING_GH.html
Thats a cute little “nak”,and she has a better arse than that palomino…….
I googled Yak calf and they are adorable. You can even ride them!
OT: took my neice in the doctor last night after getting kicked in the knee. My daughter thought it would be safer to work on horse parts than ride as the horses were wired, neice ran up behind to point out the hock. Yes, she knows better. Now she really knows better. Just badly bruised, but the doc that took care of her, our good friend goes “Know what I call horses?”
“Revenue” Ha! I thought, that actually would be a really cute name!
BlueWillow, you beat me to it! You expressed exactly my opinion on the gaited yahoo’s out there. It’s why I stopped showing.
My TWH mare will flat walk, rack, running walk, stepping pace, trot, canter, and shuttle launch velocity gallop, depending on her mood and how much we are in sync that day. She will also side pass beautifully across an arena to get away from a plastic bag. She will shoulder in/two trac like the best warmblood anytime we pass a scary sign. We have done the Arab teleport when a deer jumped up. She has x-ray vision, so she sees the dragons in the woods no one else does. Obviously no QH in her background, as she hasn’t spun and dumped me, like a friends barrel horse once did.
So when you read how walking horses are a blend of many breeds, I can see each one, LOL!
Seriously, 95% of the time she is a typical walker, it’s the other 5% I feel she is channeling a TB ancestor or something.
bluewillow….good point!Im a stock horse person, but I exercise some wonderful,sound and athletic gaited horses.As in any breed assocaition you have your pros and cons.
I have the same problem with the mare I have listed….. she is 3, not started, and she was possibly pregnant at the time. I would get messages from people that said…
Is she suitable for beginners? How broke is she? Can she be a project for my x year old son? How is she when she is ridden?
Its just mind boggling.
Sarcastic… the rack, runningwalk, singlefoot, foxtrot, flatwalk, etc., are all different gaits, but they are all 4-beated with the same footfall pattern. TWHs should do the flatwalk and runningwalk–they nod their head in rhythm with their walk. “If it ain’t noddin’, it ain’t walkin’” is the saying. If you push a TWH past its runningwalk, the head stays still and, so long as the gait stays 4-beated, it becomes a rack–which gets REALLY fast and is usually very smooth to ride. Sometimes if you push them past a rack, you get an interesting and very uncomfortable flying pace, but that’s a 2-beat gait. I haven’t figured out the foxtrot, yet, but I understand the horse trots behind and walks up front.
PS–HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I’m still stuck at home waiting for the stupid rolls to raise.
I’m on the flip side of the horse-for-sale exercise, currently shopping for one. Believe me, it’s just as frustrating! A few of my pet peeves:
1) Not having photos ready to send in response to an inquiry.
2) Sending crappy photos that make it hard to evaluate the horse.
2a) Three-quarters front is NOT a conformation picture! Neither is grazing. When I ask for a conformation picture, I want to see the horse from the side, photographer opposite the horse’s withers looking straight at him.
2b) Cameras work better when there’s LIGHT. I don’t care if its natural or artificial, but when I get a pic with legs obliterated in shadow, I just assume there’s something to hide.
3) The great size question. Hello! Borrow a stick and MEASURE before you place the ad. If you don’t know how to measure accurately, ask your vet or a show official for assistance.
3a) Deliberately overstating the horse’s height.
3b) Stating the height as what you think he’ll finish out at. Especially if the horse is 3 or 4 years old, and 2 or more inches shorter now.
4) Omitting the pedigree, or only filling in the few names you know are famous horses.
5) Long replies full of irrelevant information, including your family situation, the cost of hay or board, how this horse would be a national champion if only…
6) Replies that have more questions in them than answers. I’m looking at young green prospects. I normally state in the first or second email that I am an experienced trainer with my own farm. ‘Nuff said. Asking me a zillion personal questions is only appropriate AFTER we’ve established that the horse is something I’m actually interested in.
7) Not having video available for a horse advertised to a national market.
9) Not answering ALL the questions I ask. If I ask, it matters.
10) Being evasive about price. If you tell me to “make an offer”, don’t get all indignant when it’s a lot lower than you were hoping for.
I’ll think of more, but right now it’s time to head back to the barn…
One question..why are gaited horses almost always ridden with a death hold on their mouth in a shanked bit?Even in pleasure classes they seem to have a tight rein.
BWillow, Shadow–thanks for clarifying that not all gaited people do that crap. I saw a pic of a man in a book on breeds, under TN walker, and felt the food come up in my mouth for a sec. He was sitting on the poor beast’s ASS, ugly sloppy seat with his toes down, hands up to his freaking chest (I can’t understand _what_ is achieved by that), bit shanks about the size of a dressage whip, AND, to top it all off, more S & M gear on horsey’s front feet than a fetish ball. Dis-gust-ing.
Oh, speaking of S & M gear–I poo-litely as possible put-in-place a youngster in the class before mine–though I admitted it was just my opinion, and my one teacher was less judgemental and did more talking. The kid was asking about why Vienna rides one way and Anky rides another and why the Spanish Riding School doesn’t YankCrank&Spank (MY words here-and-now, not hers). Um, maybe it’s ‘cos the Spanish Riding School knows how to ride after almost half a millenium and Someone Else is possibly overhorsed, to resort to the bondage gear? Ya think?
*audible cringe* This is the stuff that gives dressage a bad name…Think happy, think happy, get another glass of wine, gotta keep that turkey and stuffing down
Crunchberry’s mom….
I normally only lurk but your post triggered too many memories
I have to ask what the breeding to your “Crunchberry” is…I used to go to school in Georgia, and the school I went to had an equine program, breeding predominantly AQHA at the time though I’ve heard they moved into Warmbloods…Anyway, had a cute buckskin filly that was named Crunchberry and well, I was just curious!
my CrunchBerry is Blondys Dude bred and sorrel. i would have NEBVER thought there would be 2 Crunchberries! such a small world, isn’t it?
did you go to Berry College?
I have a funny for all of you who have made fun of the banjo wielding BYBs.
I live in ID, South Central to be exact. There are tons of “hillbillies” here. Too many for my tastes.
Anyhoo, today the upstairs neighbors decided to have a little music with their turkey. You can only imagine what they were playing. Dueling Banjos!
Yep that’s right, Dueling Banjos! When I heard it I saw Ned Beaty running and squealing. Needless to say my sons and I laughed our asses off because these ppl fit the “hillbilly” descriptions to a tee!
Crunchberry’s Mom –
My gelding is Blondy’s Dude bred too! He’s also the prettiest maroon sorrel color… *mutters random pony stories about her horse*
HEY FUGLY!!!!
I wrote you an email titled
RESCUE MARE PHOTOS…..
Pretty please check it out.
Nayds
Quote: “What do you call the sort of running walk that Peruvian Pasos do? Is it a “rack” except with the funny paddling they do?”
Peruvians perform the “paso llano” as an intermediate gait. They also do a “sobreandando” which is a faster, more extended verson of the paso llano.
The footfall would be LH, LF, RH, RF in an even, four-beat gait.
The “paddling” you refer to isn’t really paddling, as such. It’s a swimming motion that originates in the horse’s shoulder rather than the lower leg. It’s called “termino” and varies from horse to horse. Some judges like to see a lot of termino, and others don’t care one way or the other. It has no affect on the smoothness of the ride, and Peruvians can turn it off when they want to, such as when you’re walking beside them or when moving through a narrow area where they might hit their hooves.
Termino is usually most noticeable when the horse is displaying his “brio” or is excited.
Kokorami said…
“…The kid was asking about why Vienna rides one way and Anky rides another and why the Spanish Riding School doesn’t YankCrank&Spank (MY words here-and-now, not hers). Um, maybe it’s ‘cos the Spanish Riding School knows how to ride after almost half a millenium and Someone Else is possibly overhorsed, to resort to the bondage gear? Ya think?
*audible cringe* This is the stuff that gives dressage a bad name…”
I love love love your YankCrank&Spank expression!! Maybe we should call aforementioned overhorsed rider ‘AnkieSpankie’?
There are people in every horse sport/breed/discipline that give that discipline a bad name. But to have that person be the one ‘crowned’ by the judges in that sport as ‘the best in the world’ is very very embarassing.
kokorami posted: “He was sitting on the poor beast’s ASS, ugly sloppy seat with his toes down, hands up to his freaking chest (I can’t understand _what_ is achieved by that), bit shanks about the size of a dressage whip, AND, to top it all off, more S & M gear on horsey’s front feet than a fetish ball.”
Did he also have his chin tucked nearly to his chest, no helmet (of course not!) and eyes firmly focused straight down on his poor horse’s stiff, cranked back neck?
I swear, I’ve gotta work on a good nickname for this type of “seat,” cough, cough.
It reminds me of an upside down tuning fork, planted backwards at a 45 degree angle on the horse. Looks like a cartoon character skidding just before slamming into a brick wall, only not funny like a cartoon.
I despise being associated with any of this part of the gaited horse industry.
Oh, and on the Anky comments, about her being crowned–try having your discipline’s World Champion being an unwilling victim of S&M, including using toxic caustic substances on their legs and feet–all to have them end up looking like big wind-up automatons come down from Mars.
Holy shit, they do not even move like a real horse, but Oooooh and Aaaaah it is pretty to the ignorant crowd. Them, I can almost excuse. The ones watching who *know*, there just is no excuse for them!
Kokorami said…
The kid was asking about why Vienna rides one way and Anky rides another and why the Spanish Riding School doesn’t YankCrank&Spank (MY words here-and-now, not hers). Um, maybe it’s ‘cos the Spanish Riding School knows how to ride after almost half a millenium and Someone Else is possibly overhorsed, to resort to the bondage gear? Ya think?
First, let me say ROTFWL! YankCrank&Spank is now my new favorite phrase!
But having seen it and done it myself, it is easier to school a horse to higher levels of dressage, than it is to RIDE a horse at higher levels of dressage.
There is a vast gulf of ignorance out there about what dressage is. First off, it’s a training discipline, not a class in a show, and it’s not the ‘easy, safe’ way to ride. Sure, using dressage principles to school your horse gains you a nicer ride, but once you get up into the higher levels, all that energy and collection you have been creating has to be controlled and directed, and this is where so many fail and go to the fancy bits, training techniques, or just lunging the heck out of the horse before you even think about getting on them.
I have an excellent example. a friend of mine bought a horse (no I didn’t go with her, and I wouldn’t have recommended him) he was a 16.2 8 yr old gelding, looks like a warmblood, but most likely a high white paint. After she had him 6 months, she decided she wanted to ‘do dressage’ and went to clinics, schooled him, etc. All she ever did, once she made this decision, was school in dressage. She got him to advanced movements (shoulder in, side pass, one tempis, etc) He really has a talent for it. Then she decided to take him on a foxhunt. It was a disaster! All that lovely collection which feels so fabulous going slowly around a ring, is pretty damn scary galloping out of control over solid 4 ft fences. She just then realized how powerful he was, and had no clue how to contain him. Now I rode this horse when she bought him on the trails for her, and he actually WAS a good trail horse, not spooky, goes where he’s pointed, but 2 yrs of advanced movements had changed him from a mountain bike to an ATV with a ferrari engine installed.
Now before I say this, I am nearing the 50 mark on age, and over 200 pounds, so i’m not being snarky when I say this (well, maybe a little..this is FUGLY) but I wish I had a dollar for every over weight older rider who buys a horse to do a bit of w/t dressage (because they are a bit timid, and dressage is the safest sport, right?) who calls me 1-2 years later to ask me to sell their horse for them because “they just turned into this strong scary horse they can’t take out of the ring.”
Al because while they learned how to ‘Do Dressage’ no one taught them how to actually ride their horse.
Ok, latest rant over..
3Arabs–I’m speechless.
You ARE making this up, right?
Taldara–Nooooooooooo! LOL. AnkieSpankie–shame on you, at least it’s only ice water on my keyboard
BWillow–Someone _please_ tell me why people who should know better do this crap. But I bet a lot of non-horse people might look at us as if we came from some other planet, you’d be surprised. Just for the hell of it I once showed my Maternal Unit a pic of a Schwartzenhorse (I think it was Sir Moo HYPP, the poster boy); she blinked and said something to the effect of “Bozhe moy…that POOR animal! He’s on steroids–what’s wrong with him?” And you can imagine the reaction when I told her he was meant to look like that. She believed that even less. (Probably still thinks he’s sick and needs some meds w/steroids.) I’ve been trying to find the pic in question; not easy ‘cos it was in a book.
Kokorami said…
3Arabs–I’m speechless.
You ARE making this up, right?
No, I’m not making it up! It was so funny and so sad too.
They would be the typical redneck, hillbillies that breed breed breed but not horses. Both of them quit great paying jobs to do yard work for less than a 1/4 of what they made before. They shoot the neighborhood cats for the fun of it and she hates cats.
Their garage is full of deer carcases and the husband and son go hunting at least 3 times a week. They truly are a bit on the scary side!
The sad part is that in my neck of ID those kind of ppl are a dime a dozen. I am surrounded by them and for a person that was raised in Cali, with a fairly decent education, it can get irritating to be around so many stupid ppl!
I have to admit that I was totally ignorant to what Ankie Spankie was doing. It is sad and disgusting to hear what is going on in that discipline!
Who else in the Dressage world is using cruel and not so unusual training on their horse? I would like to know so that I no longer cheer them on!
Hey Everyone,
I’ve posted a couple times on good ol’ Fugly Horse here and I must say I just love this site.
That being said, I LOVE where this thread is going…
I have been around horses my entire life and started taking lessons at the age of 5. I owned my first horse when I was 8, a spirited 9 year old Quarter Horse mare named Cowgirl who was fiesty with a bad attitude, and stood only 14.3 hands high. I loved that mare to pieces. We got along great, I was the only one she wouldn’t pin her ears at LOL.
After Cowgirl passed away I was the age of 11 and then owned a 2 year old QH named Star. My parents realized I didn’t yet know enough to train my own horse and thus my dad took over Star and put her into training and bought me my forever horse, Banjo, yet another Quarter Horse.
From there I owned a pinto named Lonesome whom I sold as I didn’t get along with him, he hated arenas and I was sick of trail riding ALL THE TIME.
I bought a 1 year old Paint gelding named Cowboy trained him myself and went on with him and Banjo to win a number of champions and reserve champions in various events such as halter, showmanship, western horsemanship, western pleasure, trail, reining, english equitation, english pleasure, and especially barrel racing, polebending and keyhole.
I then purchased another 1 year old grade paint named Johnny (he’s fugly) and trained him myself and we did well in halter and showmanship (except for his first show when he reared up and kicked off my hat) he still bucks like an SOB (he’s 4 now) but hopefully he’ll work out of it.
Phew.. mouthful there. I am now 21 years old, have had many experiences, trained two of my own horses, brought back Banjo from a life of abuse and have taught my fiance to ride.
As you can tell from my history, I’m a quarter horse and Paint lover and have fallen in love with the Tenneessee Walker as of lately.
I am from Winnipeg Manitoba and the one person whom I thought I could talk to regarding this wonderful breed turned out to be a hack and I found myself terribly disappointed.
I want to learn more about this breed and what they are capable of. I’m an experienced rider and my next horse WILL be a TWH. I just need to know more about the way they ride, the way they think, the type of horse they are so that I can give it the happiest life as possible. My horses’ happpiness comes before my own.
If anyone could PLEASE teach me about the breed via email PLEASE do so! I’m really interested and want to do the best I can for the horse once I am in the position to purchase one.
You can email me at kelly@shawnandkelly.info and we’ll talk from there.
Thanks for listening and I hope to hear from some experienced, kind, loving TWH owners.
-Kelly Reitmeier
my3arabs-
Coby van Baalen is probably the worst of the worst, considering she had a student practicing RK. Ugh.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/149313.html
Hey, dressage gurus? You’re going to get your chance. I think I’m going to talk about dressage tomorrow. Start your engines…
P.S. LOVE the yankcrank&spank training philosophy…have seen that A LOT and then people wonder why horses are sour…um duh?
ooo…a dressage topic. Always good to see people spreading the message about rollkur, fugly!
Ana said…
my3arabs-
Coby van Baalen is probably the worst of the worst, considering she had a student practicing RK. Ugh.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/149313.html
November 23, 2007 9:53 AM
I am dumbfounded by that picture! What are they trying to achieve with that extreme position?
I have seen, in many of the youtube vids of the Arabian shows that, the Arabs have their noses pulled in towards their chest now! They aren’t carrying their heads vertical anymore. It looks dangerous to me because the horse can’t see a head but instead are looking down.
Why?
Here is a video in support of Rollkur.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAp8y7SynRo
They say it is ok to use Rollkur as long as you work up to it?
Crunchberry’s Mom –
It was longer ago than I care to admit and I could be off on color…thinking though that there was at least one buckskin that caught the name…her sire would have been Tulsa Time Dude. Now that the gear’s are turning…I want to say the mare might have been buckskin also and named Captains Crunchberry or something similar…jeeze…hard on the old brain trying to remember those things. But yes, I did go to Berry
I still couldn’t find the TWH pic but _did_ find this from a lady who’s anti-TW abuse, with some fun holiday stuff from her blog:
http://blogs.chron.com/hoofbeats/archives/
2006/12/
Shadowrider–Amen. Safe? (-snork-) LOL. Safe, my still-achy-2-weeks-after-hitting-the-dirt ass. If any dingledoofus disagrees, I’ll arrange a dream date w/Mr. Crabby (btw, clicker training’s started though I found a -SMACK- NO! the quickest cue to get him off my damn foot when I was cleaning his damn feet Wed. Hope to see him tomorrow for more.) As you see, I have no experience in training, but even the lower levels are tough (maybe I’m just an incompetent rider?) I took lessons for 4 years, had to leave for 6, returned 6 mo’s. ago…and am surprised at both how much I remembered and how much I forgot.
Love your “2 yrs of advanced movements had changed him from a mountain bike to an ATV with a ferrari engine installed” description. I think dressage is kind of like flying a big passenger jet…not many people think about the power and size of a jet or what a job the pilots do flying those things quietly and calculating distance and time and conditions so you don’t have to think about how big a job it is. I don’t even want to imagine making sudden or extreme moves with that kind of power, going at speed. With a horse _or_ a plane. Eventers jump and do flat work, but they and their horses train with that in mind. Yes, I’m thinking of getting a horse soon. But I’d be taking my teacher and post pics for your perusal. No, I wouldn’t get anything the size of a bus or anything I can’t take out for the occasional trail ride, I don’t care how priiiiddy he is (though I admit I love the Friesians and Perchies). I’m a 5’3″, 30+ peanut, and know my limits.
Supposedly it somehow gets them used to being on the vertical or something to that extent? Erm, okay then. And not only are they looking down, but should they trip they can’t use their neck + head for balance.
Kokorami – yeah, I speak totally from experience on that. My TWH versatility mare was schooled in a snaffle bit, using the dressage discipline for years. It’s why we went to regional level in TWH showing, but not above. I refused to do what it takes to my horse to win at that level (chains, heavy shoes, harsh bits) I took her as far as we could go using collection, impusion, and a nice round frame, and was happy. But, after all this work getting her all pretty and collected, a friend and I decided to go ride on the Malborough Hunt trails. There is a favorite trail they had back then, a fire road that had these huge trees that had fallen across and been left. We called it I-95 (after a local interstate) it was a little over a mile, and we would start at one end and gallop over the trees to the far end, jumping a coop into a field. First couple of times were fine, but then my horse started really enjoying blasting along, and I thought I would slow her down. Took a little firmer contact, nice little half halts, and she obediently collected up, but didn’t slow down a bit, if anything went faster! She just got more powerful at full gallop speed. Super responsive to the leg, a twitch almost had us in the brush on the side, and super collected. Yeah, saw my life flashing before my eyes that time. Now I’m a bit more careful, always keep a bit of a lid on her, and I am aware and prepared for the power she can pull out at the drop of a hat.
Shadow Rider–I still need to ask you questions about TWH versatility (the first of which is how on earth do you know how many points you get for various placings in various classes?), but I thought I’d mention some friends of mine who go to the Celebration every year and win Reserves and Grand Championships quite regularly and have NEVER sored their horses (and usually ride them in a plain old keg shoe). I’m not saying it’s easy, but it can be done–mostly by starting out with quality show-type horses (I personally believe that a show TWH is built and moves very differently from a more athletic, all-around TWH. Frankly, I won’t ride the “loosey-goosey,” gigantar overstride, generally pacey show TWHs on any mountain trail rides at all–I think they’re all bound to fall on their faces eventually. But dang, they’re fun to watch in the show ring! That said–I’ll take the athletic, all-around TWH any day over the show horse, but my friends have proven you can win repeatedly on a national level and not sink to the level of what other trainers/riders are doing to their horses).
topdancejohnny, start your quest learning about sound TWH’s with googling Lee Ziegler (Highly recommend her book, too: _Easy Gaited Horses_), Brenda Imus, and Liz Graves. That will lead you to some forums, as well, and get you started.
A bit of something there for everyone, and I like some of what each talented lady has to say (Ziegler is now deceased, btw).
Take what seems common sense and humane to you, and see what works for the horse you wind up with.
Tierra, name names! C’mon, seriously, I WANT to believe there are folks at Celebration who win without soring. I can’t help but wonder which classes, and if they are previously-sored horses, though.
I’d dearly love the pendulum and momentum to swing back to sound horses.
Shadowrider–I had a similar ride on my half TWH dressage mare several years ago–only our collected leap was over a kid’s bike left smack in the middle of a wooded trail in the middle of Bumf*ck, and we ended said leap, complete with astounding-launch-you-to-the-next-county bascule, with a lovely canter pirouette.
Unfortunately, it didn’t count, as it was an at-liberty move, being as I was viewing it from quite the awkward landing position, on the ground.
tierra said…
Shadow Rider–I still need to ask you questions about TWH versatility (the first of which is how on earth do you know how many points you get for various placings in various classes?),
If your order the versatility packet from TWHBEA, they explain the points system. Basically you have to beat a certain number of horses to get your points. Can’t remember the exact number, and it may have changed since I was showing. They accept open show points as well, so you don’t have to go to WH shows to get them. But you can’t get any points for winning 1st in a class with only 4 horses, and so forth.
You will get a booklet to record info in, and I used to send in a copy of the show program for each show with my points, saves questions later.
I loved doing versatility, mostly because anytime someone said ‘walking horses can’t do this!’ I had to prove them wrong, LOL! And I was no where near the soring, heavy shoes, chains and bike chain bits.
Shadowrider, Bluewillow–thank God for normal human(e) beings
Maybe I’m old-fashioned for thinking the SRS still has the right idea?
3Arabs– I wonder why someone would resort to it, too. Maybe some trainers can use it for a limited time with people who _are_ “that good”. I’m sure there’s some who can do it right. Still, it reminds me of baseball players and steroids. You play better, but if you’re good anyway, why do you need to rely on it? The statistics look better–do you?
The idea of working up is true. But working towards what, and how? Anyone can work up to anything, including the Burmese ladies with rings holding up their atrophied 2′ necks. Lipizzaners vs. lighter/longer/leaner horses: of course different body types move differently. (Schwartzenhorses, anyone?) But straight from the horse’s mouth, no pun intended: “The objective of classical equitation is to study the way the horse NATURALLY moves and to cultivate the highest levels of haute école elegance the horse is capable of through systematic TRAINING. The result creates an unparalleled HARMONY between rider and horse” (SRS website, emph. mine). BWillow just testified on natural moves
ShadowR pointed out dressage is a _discipline_. Some folks have an easier time in yoga or martial arts (also disciplines). Do teachers turn away short and fat people as hopeless? No, a lot still take classes because they benefit from what they learn.
Hi, Bluewillow. I shall have to ask their permission before I post their names on the internet, but they are AO&T riders, and they most definitely have won grand and reserve for the past several years in Trail Pleasure–however, they have refused to go into the World Grand Champion trail pleasure classes due to politics (they win grand and reserve in the qualifying classes–I personally was begging them to show in the GC classes at the last Celebration, but didn’t happen). They are from the Western US. They buy their horses (usually from Tennessee, although they often find gems at local field trials, where the current owners have no clue how great a TWH they have–those are my FAVORITE stories!) at a very young age and train them themselves, so they most likely have not been sored previously (although it is possible that one or two didn’t “make” as a padded horse). They buy horses with gigantic back ends and generally not a lot of lift up front. Trust me, if you saw them move, you’d know immediately that they are not sored up. There are a few groups who show nationally from my state–a state in which there are very few TWHs–and I cannot say the other groups use such clean and sound tactics, but these guys do. You show against the same people long enough, and you figure out pretty quickly who does what to their horses. Sad that this even has to be a conversation, huh? But it gives me hope that one CAN buy great horses, spend much time training them, and play with the big guys. That said–I HIGHLY doubt anybody could win naturally on a lite shod or plantation horse. I hope I’m wrong about that, but seriously–those horses are whacking themselves in the nose with their knees. I have one friend who showed her gelding plantation several years ago at the Celebration in an open english 3-gait class and took 7th–I thought that was pretty impressive against the big guns, especially since that was her one and only time showing at the Celebration–again on a sound horse.
Shadow Rider–they only sent me a point book with zero explanation. Sometimes TWHBEA just irritates me. They are a little discombobulated at the moment, so I’m trying to give them time to work things out. I’ll have to e-mail and ask for a packet. If I never get a packet, I guess I’ll just record the shows and placings and let them figure out the points.
kokorami posted: “He was sitting on the poor beast’s ASS, ugly sloppy seat with his toes down, hands up to his freaking chest (I can’t understand _what_ is achieved by that), bit shanks about the size of a dressage whip, AND, to top it all off, more S & M gear on horsey’s front feet than a fetish ball.”….you would be describing “big lick” horses. not all of us ride, or agree with that style, as a matter of fact, more and more people are getting away from it, just not quick enough, since the money is still there. that’s the show, and what folks come to see. very sad. some folks do sit a bit further back in the saddle while riding gaited horses, though…it’s called riding on your pockets, and allows the horse to engage his rear end. it is not as exaggerated as what you see in the big lick classes, though.
to crunchberry’s mom…the “inspector” you met doesn’t sound very authentic. the rack is a specific inherited gait, and there are horses that perform it naturally. some are called “single footers”. some are called racking horses. and a true gaited horse has a three beat or “rocking chair” canter. the “parking out” you were shown is generally seen in shows, too. it used to be used to help with mounting the horse. my horse parks out on voice command, but i have never mounted him, i don’t think it’s good for his back.
to sarcastabitch: the rack is not the same as the running walk, or the foxtrot.(the foxtrot is unique to the missouri foxtrotter breed) it is the same as the singlefoot. a racking horse is not a twh reject, as the rack is a specific gait that the twh does not possess. the twh performs dog walk, the flat walk, and running walk, and a well trained walker does not break the gait, but can perform the 3 beat canter. any other gaits in a twh are not usually desireable.
to izzie 90: the “death grip and the long shanked bit” you refer to are used to set the horse’s head to allow him to gait properly, and again, is usually seen in shows. many gaited horses are ridden in shankless bits, or bosals. i ride my rocky in a d snaffle or a bosal, or halter and leads in my round pen. many of the older walkers were broke using the shanked bits, however. there is a certain amount of contact needed to set the head to gait, no matter which bit is used.
for anyone with back problems, or who just wants to enjoy a smoothe ride, gaited horses are great. i was a stock horse girl myself for years, but love my gaited guy!