This is long, but PLEASE read it. There really are times when a horse can be quite comfortable to ride, even extremely smooth, but the gaits are giving us a big clue that something is wrong. We need to learn at least some of the gait basics for the soundness and comfort of our horses!
Many of you may remember when I bought Loftur in 2004. He was advertised as a natural tolter, who for some unknown reason, had a bolting problem. When he came here, we gave him some time off, refreshed his groundwork, then tried getting on him. He had a few odd reactions along the way, but nothing bad, and was willing to stand quietly for mounting. We walked a little while, then tentatively asked for a little speed - omg, what a SMOOTH horse. I knew it had to be "tolt" (thinking saddle rack) but the pictures and videos showed it closer to step pace. We continued to tentatively ride him for very short sessions, but he stayed tense - BUT one of the smoothest horses to ride imaginable. When he didn't relax pretty quickly, I called a chiropractor. I had never seen such a dramatic reaction from a horse - she touched his back, this sweet, quiet horse, and he surged forward about 20 feet in what seemed like a single motion. I couldn't believe he was in such pain. I then took him to a vet, the one who had followed up with Gracie's acupuncture after her evaluation at Virginia Tech. He checked Loftur and said he'd rarely, if ever, seen a horse who was so tight and so locked up in every part of his body. He said for it to have gotten to that point, it must have been going on for years, whatever "it" - the root cause - was. He suggested that the acupressurist he uses see him for a few sessions to start loosening him up, because he was so bad, he simply couldn't tell where to start with diagnostic tests. And remember, Loftur was letting people ride him, and was WONDERFULLY comfortable in his gaits. Well, I should rephrase that. Comfortable for the rider. I doubt he was very comfortable. No wonder he was bolting! After 3-4 sessions with the acupressurist/massage guy, he said he thought Loftur was getting loose enough to pick up a couple of key pain areas. The vet rechecked him at that point, and found the main points were very sore withers, and an old castration scar. He x-rayed the withers, and thankfully there were no "kissing spines." Since it was only soft tissue, he injected his withers with steroids. The next day, I saw Loftur trot in the pasture for the very first time! He doesn't trot all the time in the pasture, but it's now one of the gaits in his repertoire that he can occasionally pull out and use when he needs to. I NEVER saw him trot in the pasture before the treatment - it was always that step-pacey-saddle-rack gait at liberty. Loftur is still doing well, and hasn't had to have any more steroids. But, his back will go "out" from time to time, and I have to keep watch on him and keep up his back exercises, and occasionally call in the acupressurist. He will now do more gaits under saddle - the saddle rack seems easy for him, but he can also run walk and foxtrot - not sure he can do a true trot, but that's fine. He's still a wonderfully smooth horse to ride - one of our smoothest. The gait changes were subtle, and I'm sure that most casual observers would have called what he did before AND what he does now "tolt." But there has a wealth of information available in being able to recognize those subtle gait differences. Please don't be satisfied in just being a passenger on a smooth horse...it may feel comfortable to you, but it may not be so comfortable to him. Karen Thomas, NC
