Gaited Horses?

[Running Arrow Bill]

Hey! Anyone want to discuss gaited horses? Particularly Tennessee Walking and Peruvian Pasos.

Training issues? Starting issues? Riding issues? Breeding issues? Where to find a part-time trainer issue?

Etc....

 

[kjerckie]

I had a TWH for about eight years in the 90's. She was 12 years old and X-show horse. I was her 9th owner. She was a beautiful 15.2 hand black mare. Perfect ground manners. Loving disposition. Awesome gaits. Anyone child or newbie could ride her.... ONLY in the pasture at the ocean or arena! Until I got her, she had never seen a trail or drank from a creek. Had to ride trails with half cup blinders. Sometimes had to blind fold and lead her by a 'horse eating' something. It wasn't her fault, and I spent the whole time working with trainers and trying to make her feel safe on the trails, she never calmed down! She ended up just being the ocean horse. Her rocking chair canter or running walk was heaven along the crashing waves of the ocean. When she was about 20, I gave her to a riding church camp, and she was the little kids arena lesson. I had her bred once, she lost the foal. Gaited horses are great, but I think trail is something even a show horse should learn early.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Yes, I've heard that those breeders that only do the show circuit (trying to win those politically influenced ribbons...lol) and keep their horses in pampered areas, somehow create horses that don't do well in the real world.

While stressful to horses and owners, the show scene is a rather predictable and protected environment. On the trail, well...anything goes and can happen. Very good riders and sane, predictable horses needed.

We don't do shows...think it is a waste of money in the short term or long haul. Shows are an ego-enhancing trip for those breeders. The very few that end up with Champion of Champion mares, stallions, and geldings do make money; however the rest of the world (as us too) has a very expensive and satisfying "hobby" (even though our purpose is "for profit" operation).

Our TWH horses are more "stable" and calm than are our Peruvians in the pasture, etc. Under saddle, both breeds are about the same as far as riding, personality, etc. The Peruvians still have a lot of the old "Spanish Fire" in their blood and definitely want to GO! lol.

 

[Linda]

Hey, I can't list all of my horses in your poll, Bill! :lol:

I have a 5 gaited 24 year old Tennesse Walker/Saddlebred cross gelding. He's my old boy - too much arthritis to ride him any more so he relaxes out on pasture. When he was about about 13 we clocked him gaiting down the road at 16 miles per hour. Those were the fun days!

I have an Arab gelding my husband gave me. He was the first colt I had ever ridden or trained. He's a delightful handful to ride - smooth and moves like a cat. Very intelligent & never forgets a thing, right or wrong.

I have a registered Quarterhorse buckskin filly my husband gave me this last Christmas. She's cowy and a delight to ride. Very affectionate and intelligent. She'll become my main riding horse. I guess I should call her a mare - she's 3 now.

I have a registered Saddlebred mare my husband gave me a couple of years ago when I pondered out loud one day whether I was getting too old to expend the energy the Arab required when ridden. She sometimes slips into a gaited walk, which is very nice. Anyone can ride her, although she has been used as a pack horse for so many years she tends to want to go at the speed the horse in front of her is going, which can be problematic at times.

I bought a nice black Thoroughbred (QH cross?) gelding for my adult stepdaughter earlier this year. He's a very big, strong horse, but kind and willing - not overly inclined to work - just laid back with a very smooth walk and trot. He's 16 1/4 hands.

And then, my husband has his Morgan gelding that is so cowy he has to be securely locked away from the cattle or he will herd them himself. He's a great team penning horse and every bit as good on the trail. He's joined at the hip with my husband - that horse will leave his food and come running if he sees my husband. He is insulted if you walk out into the pasture with a halter in your hand and don't let him put his nose into it.

My husband likes to say he only has one horse, but his wife has quite a few. :lol:

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Just wondering if there are any free-lance horse trainers in the Texas Panhandle region? Moonlighters? Horse exercisers? Riders for hire? Etc., etc.?

As in...

"Have riding, training skills...will travel" :cboy:

Been looking for someone...to no avail...

 

[CattleAnnie]

Raise Quarterhorses and Paints. A couple of the kids' horses are grades and use a team of Belgian/QH cross mares for winter choring. Also have a two year old strawberry roan Belgian filly that we'll start driving this winter.

Take care.

 

[fellersbarnoneranch]

We raise and adore walkers! What a fantastic partner!

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

One of us is around 24/7. We are increasing our TWH and Peruvian Paso herd faster than I want to...LOL. Two fillies on ground (one of each) and our TWH mare has been bred to our TWH Stallion for spring, 2005 foal. Our Peruvian Paso mare gets to rest in 2005. Will probably re-breed her for 2006 or 2007 foal. Breeding to champion PP Stallions is expensive activity... (can't afford it for 2005)...lol.

Trainers (or even people knowledgable) about gaited horses in this part of the country are next to impossible to find. So far, we're doing all of our ground training.

We're always open for visitors or group tours...just like talking about our Gaited Horses and Texas Longhorns!

 

[Double A Ranch]

Only Quarter Horses at our ranch Running Arrow Bill. I thin k the "gaited" horses are very beautiful in action. But my husband says they are very worthless for people that use horses.lol So I let him win this argument and get him on something else more important!lol 8)

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Only Quarter Horses at our ranch Running Arrow Bill. I thin k the "gaited" horses are very beautiful in action. But my husband says they are very worthless for people that use horses.lol So I let him win this argument and get him on something else more important!lol 8)

Am sure that expresses a lot of Texas sentiment! LOL. Texas IS quarterhorse and cutting horse country. Along with numerous other breeds in fewer numbers.

The TWH has been used in pleasure and trail, cutting, barrel, driving, "riding the ranch", and other uses. The "Tennessee Show Circuit" has definitely distorted the basic purpose of a TWH: A utility horse. They are agile and good boned while having a relatively smooth ride. On the other hand, the Peruvian Paso, being a specialty breed, is fine-boned and primarily used for pleasure, trail, therapeutic riding, show, and "long days in the saddle" riding the ranch fence lines, etc. They are world famous for their extremely smooth gait and endurance.

But, if one is in need of a cutting or roping or fast start horse...well, the TWH or the Peruvian Paso is not for that person...lol.

 

[fellersbarnoneranch]

Just wondering if there are any free-lance horse trainers in the Texas Panhandle region? Moonlighters? Horse exercisers? Riders for hire? Etc., etc.?

Have you considered doing it all yourself? My experience with starting walkers has been easy-going and SO rewarding. You wanting to start horses you've raised yourself?

 

[Alan]

Hey Bill, I love those Paso!, My problem (and some of my horse history is) I'm 6'4" and about 250Lbs, "Paso too small" or "me too big".

My wife and I have 1 Thoroughbred gelding (first horse we bought, never will own another, but he is a love on the ground, with a NFR buck and he is my wive's horse). We decided after my wife was bucked off for the last time by him, we would get into Quarterhorses. So we looked and she fell in love with a Paint Mare, bought her. Still determine to buy myself a good QH gelding We looked some more I fell in love with a well bred yearling filly, yes another Paint. As this Filly grew to a 2 yr old, I saw she would not be big enough for me (3 yrs later I ride her on trails, rock solid as a 4 yr old, she grew). So once again we set out to look at this 16.2 hand QH gelding with halter breeding. Came home with a very nice weanling colt, (yes another Paint, breeding stock I fell in love with). We love all our horses and are determined to get into showing, We have taken the Paint filly to some shows, she did pretty well, but not good enough to "run with the big boys", My wife says I'm too competitive. I really wanted nice QH so we went out and bought the breeding stocks mom (a Western Pleasure breed QH) in foal to a very nice stallion. In April we got a very nice colt with great lines, Oh yea a Paint... So the question to myself is why can't I buy Quarterhorses?

My recent horse history, I have owned, riden, and raised horses off and on most my life. I love horses because they are relaxing and a challange at the same time, and no matter how much I think I know they always teach me somthing new.

A little off subject with the post, but reading the other post inspired me(?)

Alan

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Just wondering if there are any free-lance horse trainers in the Texas Panhandle region? Moonlighters? Horse exercisers? Riders for hire? Etc., etc.?

Have you considered doing it all yourself? My experience with starting walkers has been easy-going and SO rewarding. You wanting to start horses you've raised yourself?

Guess necessity is the mother of invention! Yes, I have been ground working our young ones and round pen and figures with my PP yearling colt and some with our TWH yearling colt. Trying to do it 2 or 3 times a week as wind, and other conditions are favorable. Try to work with new foals in trust, touching as soon as they are receptive.

The PP are much more sensitive and aloof than the TWH are and more TLC and time is required to work them. The TWH respond much quicker and trust easier. On the other hand, once the PP accepts, respects, and works with you it is committed and affectionate. Both breeds are very intelligent. Neither has given us one bit of trouble in ground work or other work in round pen. No bucking, rearing, etc. Don't know if these are breed specific issues or just the personalities and behavior of the ones we are breeding and raising. Our TWH gelding was started under saddle in less than 8 hours training with absolutely no vices demonstrated. My PP colt, now 19 mos old, will not be started in bozal & introduced to saddle until he is at least 2.5 years old, no bit until age 4.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Hey Bill, I love those Paso!, My problem (and some of my horse history is) I'm 6'4" and about 250Lbs, "Paso too small" or "me too big". Alan

The PP's mature at between about 14.1 and 15.2 hands. My PP mare is 14.3 hands and about 1,000 lbs. Our adult TWH are about 14.3 hands and range from about 950 to 1050 lbs. The PP is very fine-boned and looks fragile; however, they are tough horses and well noted for their endurance on all terrain type and rarely ever require shoeing. You can see our horses on our equine website, Running Arrow Farm.

 

[TheBullLady]

I no longer have any horses, just cattle! But spent 22 years of my life training and showing TB's and Quarter Horses off the track. I rode dressage and hunters.

Bill, have you tried contacting the breed associations? They sometimes keep lists of trainers.

 

[TR]

Bill, You forgot Arabs on your poll. Texas, California, and Washington State have the leading population in Arabs in the entire nation and are worth a mention here. I grew up on Arabs, training, showing and eventually breeding, and they're wonderful horses. I'm now into "colored" horses, and currently have a big (15.2, 1150lb) paint gelding, a grulla mare, and her 04 grulla paint colt, but will always have a soft spot for the Arabs. While not traditionally used for stock purposes, they are fast braking into cutting and working cattle events and are doing very well. They have no "cow" in them what so ever, but once "shown" what they're supposed to do, they treat it like a game and love to play. I had a little bay Arab gelding for 17 years that I just lost this past June, and I swear that horse had more common sense than I did. I broke so many babies off his back, that I have to wonder how affective I would have been without him, and didn't realize how much I depended on him until he was gone. I always said he was a lousy Arabian, but a great horse. A&M used him for their equestrian team events, I trained baby race horses to pony and gallup in company off him, worked and pushed cows on him (which he loved), rode the big trail rides into Houston for the stockshow on him, rode trails in the Pacific Northwest that would scare a billy goat on him, and wouldn't have let him go for a million. He was truly a partner in every sense of the word, and over the years, I learned to trust his judgement more so than my own at times. I'd like to say that he was unusual, but after 34 years in the Arab world, I came across more that were like him than not like him. Some lines are more inclined to calmness than others, but overall they're quick minded and take a little different attitude when training and starting. If you can stay ahead of them mentally, then you will most likely have a neat little horse on your hands. The trick is to stay one step ahead of them mentally and handle them with calmness which is true for all breeds, its just that one step ahead mentally for Arabs requires a little more effort than others.

 

[Scotty]

My wifes boss started 2 years ago raising (SP) Misoury Fox trotters. Irode one for the first tie the other day and they are smooth. They have raised Paints for 20 or so years and got a Homozygous Paint Trotter. I can't remeber their adress of hand. But his name is Gail Conway DVM, he lives in Comanche TX. 325-356-3355. Thye have some really great horses and they are on the internet.

Scotty

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

I no longer have any horses, just cattle! But spent 22 years of my life training and showing TB's and Quarter Horses off the track. I rode dressage and hunters.

Bill, have you tried contacting the breed associations? They sometimes keep lists of trainers.

OH YES! LOL. ROFLOL!

They have very limited listings. Most of the handful of listings are ones I'm familiar with and 4 to 6 hours from here. (Room, board, training = $500. month ~ for 2-3 month minimum).

Seems like if you have a "NON-Quarterhorse" you are pretty much on your own...or buy, hire, or marry a full-time gaited horse trainer.

On the other hand, the people that have 1 or more gaited horses, do their own thing and always seem to have 1 or 2 full time day jobs and aren't interested in your "problem."

:roll:

 

[fellersbarnoneranch]

I think those 1 or 2 daytime jobs are to pay for our expensive hobby! I have considered outsourcing the breaking, but can't bear the possibility that someone might not treat them properly. If I get backed up with everything else, they sometimes get pushed back, but I am of the mentality that if "you want something done right--you just have to do it yourself" Maybe a gaited friend might swap services with you?

 

[Scotty]

Check this out if you will.



http://www.conwayvet.com.

Scotty