>>>> I would stop trying to get him to tolt, would not send him for "gait training", if she really wants a tolting horse, maybe sell him as a nice trail horse, because foxtrot is nice for a trail horse, accept him for who he is, or find someone who will, it's not fair to the horse to not fully appreciate them as they are, no good will come of that.
Yep...except that the longer I deal with these horses and hear of the "evaluations", etc., the less sympathy I have for people who breed but insist on only ONE soft gait in their babies. Genetics simply aren't THAT predictable, so much that you can guarantee that every offspring will tolt/rack as opposed to run walk or foxtrot. And that's especially going to be true in a breed (ours) where the full range of gaits is expected, including pace. For heaven's sake, run walk and foxtrot are wonderful. If people are going to be THAT picky, that run walk isn't ok, or that they think foxtrot is a bad thing in a baby, then maybe they should stick to ATV's. I wonder how accepting they've been of the genetic divergences they've seen in their own children? Gosh, I never expected a beautiful, athletic and gifted artist for a daughter. I COULD be disappointed that she's not a math-science oriented person like her daddy and I, and that she's had certain health issues. But, I'm proud of the gifts my daughter has and don't fixate about the ones she doesn't have. There's plenty of room for all types in this world - humans and horses. I've bred for good gaits in my babies and it looks like we got them, but time will tell. Landi looks trotty now, but he got his mom and dad's brains, bravery and sweetness. (Melnir trots a lot in the pasture, but has offered gait from his very first times under saddle.) I suspect he'll gait fine when the time comes. I plan to keep him anyway no matter what his gaits are - he's a darned special yearling out of my favorite two horses in the world. He has his own wonderful qualities, and even if he only wants to trot under saddle, he's a jewel. We'll see what his gaits are when the time comes. My feelings for him are not contingent on his gaits. The real issue to me is the evaluations. I know horses are sometimes evaluated with good scores who don't have much of what I'd call "natural gait." I feel sure it's quite possible to breed two horses who've evaluated well, and get a marginally gaited horse, or even a three-gaited one. I've tried not to breed too close to the "trot edge" or to the "pace edge". But I don't think you can tell much about which "edge" you are dealing with by looking at scores. Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.11/837 - Release Date: 6/6/2007 2:03 PM
