On Jan 18, 2008 6:13 PM, Virginia Tupper <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Jan 18, 2008 3:02 PM, Janice McDonald <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > or his gait "locking" in. > > Do gaits 'lock in'? How do they do that? > V >
thats a good question Virginia and I don't really know the answer except I hear people say that about young horses or horses just broke to ride. WIth stonewall it felt like an apt way of putting it. Because his first few months under saddle he was out of gait more than in. His next few months in more than out. Then after a while I realized he was never out, or if so, just a rare thing. I have heard people talk about gait and "muscle memory" but i dont know if that is bull or not. I do know this tho, if a horse gaits one way and all of a sudden he totally changes, that is a bad sign. I think it means a lurking physcial problem. My Jas has always been pacey but the first part of last year he started getting trotty. I just puzzled over that til I realized I had him in shoes in front because of thrush and subsequent cracks that wouldnt go away etc. stonewall taught me a lot about gait. The first time I rode him and he sped up past a walk it was a smooth gait so I just let go. When he wouldnt gait I didnt worry about it cause I knew it was there. and it was almost like me not worrying about it made him just get better and better :) My fox is a very smooth gaited horse but we rarely ride him and when we do we flatwalk almost the whole time and I feel his gaits are not "locked in" because even tho he is always smooth, he goes from a saddle rack to a runningwalk and its like he hasnt really found his groove yet. One thing, I believe a horse isnt gonna gait the way he really is gonna gait unless he is physcially conditioned and not a hay belly pasture potato. janice-- yipie tie yie yo
