First of all, welcome to the list, Maria. I've been thinking about your question about how to determine if a horse is a "natural tolter" and maybe we should back up a bit. What is YOUR definition of "tolt"? Some people have WAY different definitions of the term. In my experience, MOST Icelandic's are naturally gaited...most, but not all. Icelandic's pretty much do the same range of gaits as any other gaited horse breed, but that will vary a lot from individual to individual. Some Icelandic's naturally foxtrot, some run walk, some saddle rack, some are very pacey, and some are three gaited (as in walk/trot and canter.) Some can do many of these gaits, while others have only a narrow range of gaits they can comfortably do. Ironically, I think VERY FEW (almost zero) Icelandics truly do a "natural tolt" at liberty if you mean the single-foot support show gait you usually see in pictures. Tolt is another word for rack, and I DO think that the saddle-rack (the two-foot-three-foot support variation) is fairly common in the breed. I've had gaited horses for almost 20 years, and I live in NC, where gaited horses are common. I love Icelandics better than any breed I've ever met (and I've met a lot and owned several breeds), but what make Icelandic's unique is not their gaits. Gaits are gaits, no matter what some people may try to tell you. Ironically, I see more running walk, saddle rack and foxtrot in this breed than I do "tolt". I am not apologizing either - I love all the soft gaits, and personally, my two favorites are foxtrot and running - and I'm thankful that both are plentiful in this breed.
>>>> Both my 8 year-old daughter and I are going to begin lessons at Valhalla in January. The riding styles are completely different. Was it hard for you to adjust? Even though I've been thinking about your initial question since I first read it, this last statement really rang a bell. Please remember that you can ride an Icelandic any way that you want. Riding "styles" are a human contrivance. Horses can care less - they simply want to do what's fun and easy for them, and they basically want to get along with their humans. I don't know where Valhalla is - maybe you can tell us more...? But, if you take lessons somewhere where a "unique style" is important, the chances are slim that you will be able to easily determine what the horse's real-honest-to-God natural gaits really are. "Styles" are not natural to any horse, and they can unfortunately hide a lot of the natural tendencies and talents of the horse - while mimicking "talents" the horse may not really have. Before you start taking lessons in any "style", it would be good for you to sit down and think about what's important to YOU in a horse. Do you want to trail ride? Do you want a horse that a kid could also enjoy and maybe do some jumping with? Do you just want a horse to play around with in your backyard with, maybe dabbling in many different sports? Are you interested in natural horsemanship? All of these will come into play. As far as the subject of gaits alone, do you have Lee Ziegler's book, Easy-Gaited Horses? It's the best compilation of gait information you'll find anywhere. The woman and her father studied the biomechanics of gaits for 40-ish years before her death a couple of years ago. As I said before, gaits are gaits, so you don't need a "special" Icelandic book to learn about gaits. Again, welcome! Karen Karen Thomas Wingate, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.17.5/1190 - Release Date: 12/19/2007 7:37 PM
