>>> So how does it differ from RW? How can I tell the difference from the ground and in the saddle?
I can usually tell those two apart by the horse's body language, especially the head. In the saddle rack, the head is usually is very still, at least slightly raised, but it doesn't have to be anything extreme like in some of the yucky videos Judy linked to recently. In the running walk, the head needs to be loose in order for each foot to be independent, so you get the head-nod - although the head nod doesn't seem to be so distinct in horses with short necks as with, say, a lot of the long-necked TWH. (Trausti has a longish, lower-set neck as Icelandics go - it's very easy to see his head nod at the running walk.) They have some overlapping speed range at the lower end, although I think the saddle rack can go to higher speeds without morphing into another gait. As far as in the saddle, I can feel a very slight motion in the running walk (not noticeably side-to-side NOR front-to-back - I can't exactly explain it) where with the saddle rack, the horse seems to move around me, but I'm sitting perfectly still. Someone (my local buddy?) once described rack as "sitting in the eye of the storm." Anyway, all of this is...as I'm sure everyone is tired of me saying...described extremely well in Lee Ziegler's book! I've never found anything to disagree with her description of the gaits - and I question EVERYTHING! These are GENERALLY true I think, by my observation anyway and by what I've learned from Lee and Liz and from my own horses...but I know there are variations that I simply can't explain yet. I'm thinking about the Parelli-ism that applies here especially well: "Don't always say always, never say never, and usually say usually." For instance, I can't yet get my head around the paso llano, which I THINK is supposed to have footfalls much like a running walk, but no head motion. I think that's because the Peruvians are SUPPOSED to have that winging-like motion that originates from the shoulder, but I haven't had enough experience with the breed to have a clue really. I'm just saying this as a disclaimer, that there are some notable gaps in my gait knowledge - and I'm not sure they will ever go away! Karen Thomas, NC
