>>>> She sent video of her attempts to get him to tolt. He fox trots, but no tolt.
Sigh. Poor horse. What's wrong with foxtrot? Ok, on second thought, let me answer my own question. There is NOTHING wrong with foxtrot. It's a great gait. If a five-year-old just under saddle OFFERS foxtrot, I that is a wonderful thing. But your phrasing above worries me...what does it mean "her attempts to get him to tolt" only results in foxtrot? What is she doing to get it? Is he freely offering it - if so, be happy, very happy. If she has to pressure him to get that, give him some time. In this case, knowing the gait he's doing doesn't tell me much; the context in which he's doing that gait would tell me a lot. >>>> "I am pretty frustrated; spent a lot of money on his mother, spent a lot of money breeding to a good stallion and ended up with a horse that doesn't tolt." What would you say to her? Suggestions? Yeah. It frustrates me when I hear about people being frustrated with a five-year-old's gaits. A five-year-old is a baby. Don't rush the poor thing. His gaitedness is what it is, and trying to make him do something he isn't ready to do isn't fair to him. Some horses simply take more time. Personally, I'd never breed a horse that doesn't offer gait (key word: OFFER) during his/her first few rides under saddle...but I've known some awfully nice Icelandic's who have some gait limitations. There's a lot more that makes this bred special than merely gaits. And back to your point: >>>She provided some background information on him. She bought a good (expensive) mare, bred her to a good (expensive) stallion, both of whom were *prized* horses. The "prizes" (first-prize, second-prize) aren't given out until the horses are evaluated. And horses aren't evaluated until they are trained, at least not for gaitedness. And the horses are allowed to wear bell boots, have longer toes than I'd ever have, and have heavier shoes on front when they are evaluated. And they can be evaluated with riders sitting on their rumps, saddles too tight and placed too far back, nosebands too tight, with broken mouthed shanked bits. Now how on earth can you tell what is inherently in the horse's DNA with that many man-made influences at work? If you want to see the heritable part of the horse, best to observe as much about the horse as you can while the horse is unspoiled by training, and to make careful, honest notes as the horse is put under saddle. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
