> I'm looking for a horse that is probably two to three years old. > I plan on doing lots of ground work and when the maturity level is > there to start training it to drive
Try to find a horse that has been raised with being handled. Probably Cherie's filly would be a good choice. >>1. Are all Icelandics gaited and if not can they be trained to be by >>slowly developing muscles? Not all Icelandics are gaited. The shows and evaluations exhibit mechanical / manipulated gaits, so a show pedigree won't be of value in determining future gaitedness of a foal. >>>2. Do they need to be shod to tolt? I've always had my horses barefoot. They shouldn't, but some Icelandics do need mechanical aids to gait. We do not advocate mechanical aids here, but it is accepted in the show world, which is not a good thing in our opinion. We try to not support those trainers and breeders. This article may help understand about natural and artificial gaits: http://iceryder.blogspot.com/2008/06/natural-and-artificial-gaits-in.html >>>3. Since I am looking at younger horses and they will not be trained to >>>saddle, what do I need to look for (the potential of a good tolt) and >>>what questions should I be asking? For a natural gait, the horse will be gaiting at liberty. Sometimes the gait comes from a back that hollows easily (that could be because of different reasons, either too weak, too flexible or too much laxity). http://iceryder.blogspot.com/2008/04/back-of-icelandic-horse.html Otherwise, gaitedness may not be able to be predicted, until the horse actually gets old enough to get on it's back. Here's another article: http://iceryder.blogspot.com/2008/07/description-of-tolt.html Judy http://iceryder.net http://clickryder.com
