--- In [email protected], [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > i still don't see how natural gait could be selected *against*....? > > --vicka >
It definitely can, that is where the American Saddlebred has ended up. If you keep breeding for high action animated trot, and don't see any gait at liberty, this is what will start happening, you will get 3 gaited horses. The problem with using weights for gaits is that it is hard to determine whether a particular stallion really has natural gaits or not. I would guess that the 5 gaited ones must have some natural gait, but the more I hear the more I think that a lot of 4 gaited Icelandics might not really have natural gait. There is definitely a continuum of gait, and it is a delicate balance, but if you breed two naturally soft gaited horses, you should get a horse with some kind of soft gait. The problem is that a "tolt" is not that hard to manufacture, that is what the weighted shoeing does. Harsh bits can contribute also. These horses cannot "tolt" on a loose rein. It was attempted with my Icelandic, he could "tolt" alright, and he would groan and protest, until I finally woke up and stopped it, they had me put heavier weighted shoes on the back feet and everything. It really ruined what was natural for him. I am sure not all horses protest like that, but we do see an awful lot of tight nosebands and ripping at mouths. It turns out he does have some natural gait, but not a gait that was recognized by any people involved with Icelandics, it was not acceptable. He foxtrots, and I am starting to notice that he does it at liberty. The trainers told me he was "faking" tolt. It's too bad that there are people out there who don't even seem to know the basics of gait and they are attempting to "train" these gaited animals. Dari is very smooth. I have to say one well known Icelandic horse breeder/trainer said Dair was so smooth even in "trot" that you could hardly tell the difference between his tolt and trot, so he said "Who cares". The thing is, he probably never did a really pure trot, that is why it is so smooth with no movement up and down, no jolting, and he can fly. I had to go outside of the breed in real life to start learning about gaits, and then this list. So, this is what a lot of this is actually about, letting the horse do the gait they are built to do and breeding for natural ability, not manufacturing gait, it hurts the horse. You can definitely breed the gait right out of the horse. Kim
