>>>> Or does a "strongly gaited" horse include a horse that does all the >>>> other gaits this list talks about Icelandics doing? Are those horses >>>> out there doing a running walk, foxtrot, stepping pace, amble or >>>> whatever else people now recognize Icelandics doing, "strongly >>>> gaited"?
I use that term, and I agree that it's vague. If someone can find a better term, I'll certainly be happy to adopt it. MY definition, and mine only: I consider a horse to be "strongly gaited" if their first choice of gait when they speed up from walk is an inarguably four-beat "soft gait", such as foxtrot, running walk, saddle rack, rack, or even a stepping pace - without special shoes, special trims, no bell boots, no oddly placed saddles, no cantle sitting riders on a loose-ish rein. If the horse speeds up from walk and goes directly into trot, and/or the rider has to sit in any special way, maintain heavy contact, etc., then the "strong" in the description falls away by degrees. If the gait has to be taught - and I mean literally taught, not simply refined - then the horse isn't strongly gaited as I use the term. I'm open for other suggestions for a term to describe what I mean. To be honest, I suspect that Lee Ziegler, in her take-no-prisoners direct style of talking, would consider too many Icelandics to be "weakly gaited" or even three-gaited. I don't think she would have used the term "strongly gaited" very often because she was used to gaited horses meaning truly GAITED, no if's and's or but's about it, no blurring between three-gaited and gaited. Maybe Judy will speak up if she thinks I'm wrong - she certainly knew her MUCH better than I did. On the other hand, since Lee's not around to speak for herself, maybe we shouldn't speculate. We COULD instead ask Liz for a suggested term since they were friends and respected each other as colleagues. >>>> Anybody else consider the term "three gaited horse" to be a tired and >>>> inaccurate cliche when talking about gaited horses which don't happen >>>> to favor the tolt as their primary gait? To me, "three-gaited" is one of the most precise terms we use on this list. I don't know of anyone who's ever used it as you described - at least I don't. A three-gaited horse is exactly what it says...a horse who does walk, trot and canter...period. The vast majority of TB's, Arab's, QH's, App's and Warm Bloods are described as three-gaited - it's a common term, and that's how I mean it. There are three-gaited horses in this breed - too many in fact. They are Icelandic's, but they aren't gaited, at least to no appreciable degree. >>> Still, there are terms used in the book which aren't very well defined >>> and aren't terms I hear much around other horse people. For example, >>> I have seen the term "camel walk" used on this list but never hear it >>> anywhere else and can't visualize the brief description offered in the >>> book. Yep, like we discussed recently, some terms are regional, and not generally accepted across a wide geography. I think camel walk is certainly one of those. I don't generally use it, but I questioned it when Janice used it recently about one of my horses, and per the definition I'm used to, that particular horse is the opposite of being a "camel walker." This just makes the case even more strongly for sticking to the standard terms, most of which Lee defined. I'd prefer to see "piggy pacer" and "camel walker" removed from the gait vocabulary since they tend to confuse more than clarify, and neither is particularly helpful to study. However, you have to forgive us - those of us who live in regions where the "locals" talk about gaits may sometimes lapse into local terms. It may not be intentional, but I'm sure we'll occasionally slip up. Remember that Janice and I both live in "gaited horse country", even if we are several hundred miles apart. I've found some regional difference in what Janice describes there than in what I've seen here. This list is a place for us to overcome or bridge those differences though, not to argue about who's right. Janice and I certainly didn't argue about camel walking - I don't think either of us care much really. And, while Lee's book is the best book I've EVER seen on the topic, remember that she was always learning too, even if she did have a 40 year headstart on most of us. Those of us who had personal conversations with her know that one of her most common beginnings to her answers was "it depends". While we want to use the terms that are as precise and clear as we can make them, horses are mammals with infinite variations from individual to individual. Because of the analog nature of mammals, there's a limit to how precise we can ever be - and Lee was wise enough to remind us of that. There has to be a line between being as precise as possible versus being rigid, and I guess we have to figure that out as we go. Karen Thomas, NC
