>>>> For most gaited horses, sitting deep in the saddle and putting your weight on the loins (or shifting the saddle back) will get the horse to get under itself and generally will cause it to gait, if it has any tendency at all.
Maybe I’m taking you too literally, but PLEASE, no weight on the loins – EVER. I won’t argue about slightly altering your weight by shifting your torso SLIGHTLY back, but the horse’s loins are not made to support weight. Getting gait is not worth hurting the horse! It’s not required, so why do it? >>>> The first thing to try, though, is to run in hand or pony the horse along side a horse that IS gaiting, on a hard surface or next to a wall so the gaiting horse's footfalls can be heard. Again, I cringe! You may literally mean for a few strides, and I won’t quibble about the harm from that. But, I think most times, training/refining/encouraging gait should be measured in weeks, months, even YEARS, and hard surfaces are very stressful on the hoofs and joints. I never go there, and I discourage others – a FEW people may be able to moderate and know when to say when, but it’s not worth living that close to the edge of good horsemanship to me. And if the horse is one predisposed to bone spavin, the risk may be still more dire! If the horse has natural gait in him, we can find and nourish it in other, less-risky ways. Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.518 / Virus Database: 269.21.7/1327 - Release Date: 3/12/2008 1:27 PM IceHorses Community for Photos and Videos: http://kickapps.com/icehorses "The greatest enemy of the truth very often is not the lie- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic." "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer [] Lee Ziegler http://leeziegler.com [] Liz Graves http://lizgraves.com [] Lee's Book Easy Gaited Horses http://tinyurl.com/7vyjo [] IceHorses Map http://www.frappr.com/IceHorses Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
