On 3/13/08, Nancy Sturm <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > 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, the horse will > > often "get it" from the sound. >
i dont think that really works. Reason I say, is my good ponying horse is very very crappy gaited, a hard pacer and stepping pacer. I have 4 horses off him now. Of these absolutely none of them hard pace or stepping pace. When I ponied them however, they DID. They mirrored his footfall and speed exactly. mainly stepping pace. I remember my husband riding Jaspar off ponying his horse Traveller from age 10 months to 3 years, ponied him at least a couple days a week. I would sit in the swing and hear them coming up the long drive, sounded like loud footfall of one horse, not two, and it would be so pretty to watch them in perfect unison, which nasi does too now. But these horses so far I have started on Jaspar and then put under saddle do not gait anything like him. Aned my Stonewall, its actually pretty hilarious. he will mimic anything coming up beside us. The most hilariuous thing you ever saw was him trying to match the footfall of a fino gait, and then the slow western pleasure jog of an appaloosa, but the only time he ever did a full blown true rack was when we were on a long long clay road with a buncha horses and I heard the racking horse coming from way behind, just flying, and stonewall was saddleracking. When he got up just behind us Walls launched into a true rack and stayed with him about a half mile. It was exhilerating and terrifying at once because i knew if he went sideways and I fell it would be the end of me on that hard road! Janice-- even good horses have bad days sometimes.
