>>> If possible start riding Icelandics BEFORE you buy one so you can >>> experience the gaits >>> and decide if you absolutely have to have the tolt. My mare usually >>> chooses the tolt >>> first and she can mix everything in with it or give a lovely perfect gait; >>> some days I >>> can't get a trot or a canter on the trail, but the gaits are there and will >>> come out >>> when conditions are right.
I agree with that, but I'd add a couple of things. First of all, some breeders/sellers will call any soft gait an Icelandic will do a "tolt". I wouldn't argue the point if the word were consistently used to mean "soft gait", but it's not, and confusion results, often damaging the horses in the process. If the horses are trained more naturally, they will each offer his/her gaits in a slightly unique way. Even if the footfalls are the same, just as there are infinite varitiations of trot, there are infinite variations of gait. The speed, the suspension, how the horse uses his/her body, the relaxation, etc...all that comes into play - a western-pleasure QH probably won't trot like a bred-for-dressage Lippazaner. Contrast that with the "professionally" (meaning: traditionally or show-type trained) Icelandics...where the trainers insist that all Icelandic's literally "tolt." Most of us on this list think it's rather nasty to force all horses to do any given gait, just because some human decided that it's the breed signature gait. Many Icelandic horses can, for instance, EASILY foxtrot or maybe run walk, but just don't have tolt in their natural repertoire. Foxtrot and running walk are lovely gaits, very comfy to ride, so what's the big deal? I don't think it matters one whit to most trail riders. While I can recognize when any of my horses do, for instance, a foxtrot (now - I couldn't always distinguish the gaits), each one will feel slightly different. And - this is blasmephy in some Icelandic circles! - the conceivable gaits are the same for all gaited horses. Tolt is not unique to Icelandics. Not all Icelandics can easily tolt... just as all Missouri Foxtrotters won't foxtrot (but may rack, step pace or run walk, whatever...) or that all TWH won't run-walk (but may foxtrot, rack, step-pace, whatever). In other words, some Icelandic's might gait more like your neighbor's TWH, or like your cousin's Foxtrotter, for example. I have an Icelandic horse that I got as a "problem horse", and I believe that his problems originated in that he's basically three-gaited (and I don't think it's THAT common in the breed, but it does happen) but the trainers insisted that he tolt - literally, the show-kind of tolt...and somehow he ended up with nasty mouth ulcers and gastric ulcers. (Even the phrase "tolt training" makes my blood boil now.) He's a doll now, a nearly perfect trail horse, but he will never forget that early training. I only ask him to walk, trot or canter. If he ever offers a little more, of his own choosing, that would be fine, but no more tolt training for this lovely boy! >>> My mare usually chooses the tolt first and she can mix everything in with >>> it or give a >>> lovely perfect gait; some days I can't get a trot or a canter on the trail, >>> but the >>> gaits are there and will come out when conditions are right. This would be >>> confounding if I was trying to show her, but I am not, I am just trying to >>> enjoy her >>> many moods of movement. That's not unique to Icelandic's by any means. Many (most?) gaited horses may go through that while they are learning to balance a human on their backs. My TWH mare did that when I first got her (she was three and I was a beginner rider - how stupid was that?) I know now that she's a "multi-gaited" horse, one who can easily trot and do various soft-gaits...in other words, she's much like an ideal Icelandic in her gaits. If only I'd known Lee Ziegler and/or Liz Graves 20 years ago! I think that Icelandics are a lovely, wonderful, and very unique breed...but it's not the gaits that make them unique! Put the range of gaits in the mix with sturdy, gentle, sure-footed, sensible ponies, and you really have something! Karen Thomas, NC
