>>> I agree. They also tend to become quite stiff (they pace because they are >>> stiff or become stiff because they pace) and it's a lot more difficult to >>> work a horse "loose" and keep him that way if he doesn't trot.
I know that's a given in the Icelandic community that horses NEED to trot, but I don't literally agree. I DO think it's good for the horses to alternate gaits. I DO think it's hard on the horses to spend too much time in the racky (tolty) or pacey gaits. I think it's great for the horses who can easily trot to be allowed to trot. But, we no longer (I hope!) think that Icelandic's ONLY do walk, trot, canter, "tolt" and pace. I really think it's hard on some Icelandic's...no, on some horses of ANY gaited breed...to ask them to trot. But, trot isn't the only alternative to rack and pace, right? Many Icelandic's can comfortably run walk, which is a LOVELY gait. Some Icelandic horses can comfortably foxtrot - probably MY favorite of all the soft gaits. Many, probably MOST, Icelandic's can canter, and ALL (that I've ever met!) can WALK and flat walk. I think those are viable alternate gaits too. I think VARIETY is the answer, not asking a horse to do any gait that's hard for him, be it either extreme: rack/tolt or trot. Frankly, I think if the trotting is done in the forced, restrained way we see in the show videos, then the horses aren't going to benefit from trotting any more than from racking. Maybe it's more to-the-point to say that we should aim to vary the gaits the horse does, and to make sure that he does them comfortably and in a relaxed way, rather than advising any particular gait. Sometimes I think we in this breed have the cause and effect reversed on this topic. I think that the horses that SERIOUSLY tend towards pace tend to be stiffer horses, not so much that the pacing made them stiff. But, if the horse is inherently built pacey, I don't think it's fair to expect him to trot to compensate. We can walk him/her a lot on varying terrains. We can do wide serpentines and flexing and bending exercises, even at a standstill. And if the horse has other viable soft gaits and/or can canter, we can encourage those. Karen Thomas, NC
