>Sounds like you were presuming neither Skjoldur nor Remington are strongly gaited, even though you've never seen either of them. . .. From what Elisabeth Haug told me about the eight horses she competed in endurance, most of them like her palomino stallion Snaefaxi were strongly gaited as well.<
John, for what it's worth: Anne Elwell always used to tell people (myself included) that Elisabeth's horses lacked gait. I don't know if she still tells folks that or not, but "way back when" that's what she apparently thought. Maybe that was her personal opinion of them -- which she was certainly entitled to -- but she tended to state this as a commonly-known fact. I think quite a few folks (not meaning Karen, but people in the breed in general) have taken that sentiment as fact in judging (perhaps very unfairly) Elisabeth's horses and breeding program. Being Anne Elwell was instrumental in getting the USIHC started and has been on it's board since Jesus was a child, many consider her opinions as gospel / expert. And then, some of us do not. : ) > I saw a TWH at my last endurance ride in December being ridden mostly at the running walk. I have also seen people with foxtrotters riding mostly in the foxtrot or rather that's what they told me they were doing. It seems like more of a distance riding gait that the rack. Yes! I can defintely believe that. It makes perfect sense too. The Running Walk, though no faster than 8-10 mph is a fantastic gait for covering ground because it's very "square", the back is neutral rather than slightly ventroflexed like the racking family of gaits , and it's not particularly taxing for the horses. Meanwhile, (from what I understand of the gait), the foxtrot can be faster, and even ridden in a collected frame, again saving the horse's back over long distance and making him/her use his hindquarters (the engine) more effciently. I think a foxtrot would be an awesome endurance gait to have at one's disposal in competition. --Renee M. in Michigan -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.20/1261 - Release Date: 02/05/2008 8:57 PM
