>>>> Traveler is beautiful and my guess would be that he leans toward the trot. I'm thinking Eitill might have a full range of gaits and can't even come up with a guess on the other two.
Traveller belongs to Janice and Donny - I just met him at the Liz Graves clinic last year. He seems to default to foxtrot, but he does other gaits. I'll let Janice fill you in on more detail when she reads this. Eitill probably does have the full range of gaits, but his gait of choice seems pretty much centered on saddle rack, with trot being his least easy gait. So, in a way you're not totally wrong. Eitill does trot some in the pasture, so it's somewhat natural for him. Of these horses, Falki has the strongest tendency to trot, but he willingly, on a loose rein, barefoot, no special saddle, offers foxtrot. My friend rode him yesterday and she's owned gaited horses her whole life. She chastised me a little for letting anyone and everyone ride him. He's that kind of horse, the kind that makes everyone feel comfortable and safe. The downside is that no single person has ever ridden him consistently for very long. My friend likes his foxtrot a lot, and thinks he probably could develop a running walk too, with just a little encouragement, without any real coercion. Trausti, the bay, has the widest range of gaits of any of these (unless Traveler does...but he's not my horse). Trausti defaults to flat walk/running walk, but he can also step pace, saddle rack, foxtrot and trot. I honestly believe it's not too hard for him to do any and all of the gaits. He's got a lovely canter, VERY easy to ride, and naturally rocking chair. I suspect that Trausti could do a true, single foot rack, but he's a laid back guy, not really motivated to and that's fine with me. I also suspect he could physically do flying pace, although neither he or I see any reason for him to. I'm beat for the night, so I'll try to explain the dots in more detail later. Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.484 / Virus Database: 269.13.1/982 - Release Date: 8/31/2007 5:21 PM
