> I like what Anita Howe says here about natural
> horsenabship and gaited horse
> training:
>
http://www.howetheywalk.com/do_you_need_a_gaited_trainer.htm
Anita has been on the gaitedhorse list for many years.
It's a great article which I'll repeat here:
Do You Really Need a Gaited Trainer?
by Anita Howe
People often email or phone me for training advice for
their gaited horses. Upon extensive query, I often
discover that many of their issues are not truly gait
related but simply because their horse has never been
trained with good, solid horsemanship basics. I tend
to find they are often making some fundamental errors
like over-bitting the horse, or trying to use weighted
shoes, or their horse has never been properly trained
to give to their legs and respond to the bit.
I will watch video they send me and commonly see them
pulling the horse's head up, having been told their
gaited horse should be high-headed and framed up. I
will see horses that move extremely hollow with no
bend or give and in very poor balance. Given just one
these circumstances, it is impressive if any horse can
gait correctly. Often horses are plagued by many of
these problems.
Although there is a vast need out there for sound,
gimmick-free gait correction help and advice, there
are very few trainers who truly understand how to help
people who are seeking to school their horses in
natural gait correction without the use of harsh,
mechanical "aids". So great is this need, and so few
and spread out are those to fill it, that there is
very little hope in making even a small dent in that
need. Therefore, I want to advise as many of you as I
can to make this very honest determination: do you
really need gait correction advice, or might you be in
need of a good natural horsemanship trainer first?
After all, gaited horses are not a different species,
as many gaited trainers seem to want you to believe.
They are first and foremost horses and should be
trained first as a horse! It is only after you have a
good, solid foundation of softly giving to the bit,
bending and balance, flexing and moving laterally off
your legs, willingly stopping and moving out, that you
can even begin to determine if your horse "just might"
have a real gait issue.
I have often advised people to find a good natural
horsemanship trainer close enough for them to work
with on a regular basis. It is amazing the number of
"gait issues" that miraculously disappear after the
horse learns to give, to bend, to flex, to move, and
to respond to the rider in a soft and willing manor. I
also highly recommend RFD-TV and the many natural
horsemanship trainers offering their advice free of
charge on their programming every week if you are
fortunate enough to have it available on your
television service
I also advocate that everyone train their gaited
horses just like any other horse for the first 6-12
months under saddle, with the only exception being
that they keep their horses at the flatwalk (or the
equivalent) during that time. The focus should be on
the basics of bit training, bending, balance and
lateral movements. This is so very important and
probably the single biggest payoff for every gaited
horse.
It is invariably where I have to start with horses
brought to me with gait problems because in order to
correct the problem I must be able to influence their
balance. In order to influence their balance I must
have the cooperation of willing and fluid head and
neck carriage as well as body posture and position.
And you can do this yourself with the aid of natural
horsemanship before you even contact a gaited
trainer.
There are several other things that can mask
themselves as gait problems:
Horses with dental problems will be
uncomfortable with the bit and will hold themselves
awkwardly, often fearfully. This creates posture
abnormalities, which then result in off-gaits. Getting
a good dental check can reduce a number of current and
future problems with horses working comfortably on and
with the bit.
Severe and badly fitting bits cause these same
reactions and postures. When horses are afraid of the
bit, you have lost a crucial method of communication
with them.
Poorly fitting saddles create pressure points
and posture issues, causing a horse to hollow or brace
in carrying the riders weight. Shoving a pad under a
badly fitting saddle will not necessarily help and can
often actually make the problem worse.
These are just a few of the initial checklist of
things I run through with each horse and rider before
we can even begin to look at gait. These issues must
be ruled out first, and will often resolve many issues
that owners had previously felt certain were gaiting
troubles. It is amazing the number of times that
people will email me weeks later and say they their
horse is moving better once they found a milder bit,
got that dental float, or found a saddle that actually
fit the horse.
It is difficult to work with a horses mind when their
body is in discomfort, so take care of his body first.
Then you can reach his mind much easier, and have a
much more willing horse to work with. When their
bodies get comfortable, many off-gaited horses
suddenly find natural gait their owners had no idea
they had.
________________
Judy
http://iceryder.net
http://clickryder.com
