Gated horses or not?

Question

it seems that people either love them or hate them. . .

so do you love or hate gated horses?

why do you love or hate gated horses?

what makes the big differences between the two for you?

thanks!

Answer 1

I think they are fun. I love mine.

Answer 2

ok i have two tennessee walking horses, pleasure ones, and they are amazing!!!! i love them cause you can do anything you can with a trotting horse you just dont have to worry about posting or bouncing all over the place. they make the ride alot more peacful and enjoyable!!

The big difference would be lets say your on a trail and there is a flat spot so you decide to step it up would you rather bounce everywhere and be hurting or sit still and be in peace? I LOVE TWH!! they are the best but i also LOVe quter horses too even though i have never ridden one i still love them but i have to go with gaited all the way!!

tennessee walking horses were harmed in the past but no one dose that anymore to know the real scoop you would actually have to go to horse and reliize that the dqp who checks the horses feet went crazy one year, they made a horse walk around the cone 15 times just so the dqp could find something wrong the horse was not hurt at all. so please don't go stereyotyping the walking horse no one sores there feet anymore that was all in the seventies. :)

Answer 3

Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say I hate them,  but in my limited experience, I dislike them.  I rode one several times at the place I boarded in college, where most of the owners rarely rode their horses and were happy to let me ride them.  This one was a TWH, I think.  She was never a show horse, and I rode her on the trails and around the farm a handful of times.  After about 14 years of only riding non-gaited horses, it felt weird.  There was a lot of side to side motion.  There was no bouncing, but I really didn't like the side to side motion.  I think it's all in what you get used to.

Answer 4

Never owned one, never worked with one, never even rode one.  I'd like to, though.  They just aren't terribly common where I am, I guess.  If nothing else, I'd like to ride one just for the experience.

Answer 5

Im assuming when you say gaited you mean saddlebreds TWH and such. Yes I love. No i dont agree with some training methods. But as with most issues people are to blame not the animal

Answer 6

I own four Tennessee Walkers and I love them.  I'm getting a Walkaloosa out of my App mare in a year or so.  I love them, my Walker gelding can do anything gait wise that a typical horse can but can still do flat and running walk on command.

They rock!

Answer 7

well i've never ridden a gaited horse

i think they look funny in the running walk lol  BUT  would LOVE to ride one !

but i would only buy a gaited horse that could canter too so i think a 5 gaited? i'm not sure i don't know much about them

but i'd def get one for cross country riding! =)

Answer 8

i dont like gated horses because of the way most people train them. some horses are naturally gated, which is fine but i others are trained to move their feet in a very harsh way. for instance, Tennessee Walking Horses, where often froced to pick up their feet because of the painful contraptions the had to ware. i have also heard of people irritating the hoof by putting a chemical on them. tho they look beautiful and feel very elegant wen u rie them, overall, gated horses just are not for me unless they move like that naturally.

Answer 9

They are soooo very comfortable! & The people saying they don't like them are all uneducated on them!! Their answer prove that 100%!!!! They can lope, run like other breeds. I have a Morgan mare that gaits. It is sooo nice to scoot across without the bounce!!! I onlt have the one mare, maybe 2 we have a filly with Canadian Morgan lines & a lot of them are gaited. So we will see. If you have not rode one, DO!!!!! It is worth riding to see how you like them!!!!!

Secret~~~~ You are very uneducated on the TW horses if you don't like them because the way PEOPLE train them!! TW are naturally gaited, people use those way to get the "Big l**k". & TW gait even not in pain, it is natural.

Answer 10

I love gaited horses.  At present the worlds top rated trail horse is the Missouri Fox Trotter.  This is due to its smooth gait, sure footedness, and incredible endurance.

Seriously, most people who hate gaited horses have simply not ridden any, do not know how to make them gait, or spend all their time riding in arenas and relatively little time actually in the saddle.  It is unusual for me to ride a horse for less than and hour at a time and the time is typically 2 to several hours straight.  During that time we cover nearly twice the ground that non gaited horses tend to cover.

For me I will not even consider a non gaited horse anymore.  It just isn't worth it for me.  I cover too many miles and enjoy my time in the saddle too much to go back to the jarring trot of the non gaited horses I grew up with.

I also like the people loving personality of my fox trotters.  Even the mare that was beaten by a previous owner and made head shy, comes up to us to be loved and scratched on.  I have a 4 year old that I could let my 6 year old daughter (then 5) ride as a 3 year old.  The little horse was EXTREMELY protective of her and never acted up when she was on her.  

One thing more, some people try riding horses that only running walk such as the TWH's over rough terrain.  While the running walk is an excellant gait and actually smoother than the fox trot, it lacks the stability since both feet on the same side are always off the ground at the same time.  The fox trot is a diagonal gait and the most sure footed of all gaits.  Thus if you ride rough ground get a horse that can fox trot.  It is possible for some horses of other breeds to do a fox trot in really rough ground, however they tend to drop out of it immediately when they get on better footing.  I prefer the modern fox trotters that running walk on smooth ground and fox trot on rougher ground.

Erica,

You ride gaited hroses balanced the same way you ride non gaited.  The only difference is when you ride gaited on trail you really need a curb bit.  It is used the 'check up' the horse when it gets its feet out of time.  Checking up is a gaited term which involves simply using the reins to slow the horse down so that its feet drop into the rhythym of the next slower gait (a smoother one), slight pressure is held telling the horse not to change rhythym, and at the same time leg pressure is used to tell the horse to speed up.  Then after the horse is going again pressure is released.  This can be done in a snaffle but many horses learn they can wear a person out on a long ride.  And no it does not hurt the horse in any way.

S

Every gaited horse can canter.  Some people will not let theirs.  I do not let Belle my main riding mare canter because she can rack too (unusual in fox trotters).  A rack can actually be considerably faster than a canter.  Belle can rack at speeds fast enough to make quarter horses break into a gallop to keep up.  She has done it a few times.  But we often let our other mares canter.

EDIT

Now wait a minute!?!?!?!?  Your friend has ridden one and said they are uncomfortable???????  Not so at all.  Either she hasn't ridden one or it was a gaited horse that wasn't gaiting when she rode it (quite possible since some gaited horses will not gait for someone that is not experienced with gaited horses  and occasionally you will find a horse from a gaited breed that will not gait at all.  I ridden a few like that and they are quite rough).  

It really is that simple.  A gaited horse does not bounce you.  Thus they are far more comfortable than non gaited horses.  And I can say this in an unarguable, fact like statement.  There is no one on earth that has ever ridden a gaited horse while it is properly gaiting and can still claim that gaited horses are not more comfortable than non gaited.

Answer 11

Gaited horses are GREAT! And if your friend said they were uncomfortable, she wasn't riding a truly gaited horse.

NOW, I do not agree with people who pad them up for showing and all that stuff.  It is cruel in my opinion.  My gaited horses are flat shod for trail riding and fun shows.

The reason I got into gaited horses is because I like to trail ride and cover as much ground as possible without having to post and without my horse having to canter.  I aslo didn't want to stress my horse out covering great distances.  Gaited horses are perfect for this!  Another reason I got into gaited horses is because I wanted a horse that didn't make me sore (even though I am in excellent condition riding for 8 hours at a time can leave you a little sore if you're on the wrong kind of horse).

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against non-gaited horses at all and enjoy watching all types of riding events from rodeos to dressage.  BUT, for my personal riding, I prefer the smooth step of the gaited horse.

In my experience (over the past 20 years) the people I have talked to who don't like gaited horses know absolutely NOTHING about them!  How's that for being ignorant!  These people only heard about the trouble gaited show horses have and ASSumed that ALL gaited horses were done like that....IDIOTS!  Come out to my place and see my horses, none of which have ever been mistreated for 1 minute!

I just wish people were more like me....true horse lovers regardless of the breed!  You can have your favorite, but if you TRULY love horses, you will see the beauty in them all.

Answer 12

i love gaited horses, i have owned many in the past and still own a TWH right now.  They are beautiful and most of them are very smooth.  The only thing i do not like about it is when people put those heavy pads on their feet to make them look better.  I would prefer their natural gait over pads anyday

Answer 13

Racking horses are really nice to ride. Their extra gaits are very smooth--so much easier to ride (and on your butt) than trotting.

I can actually take them or leave them, though. I learned on them when I was a girl, but we don't really have them much where I am now.

Answer 14

I think you mean Gaited Horses.

I like Tennessee Walkers because you get a smooth ride and it is enjoyable to go on a long trail ride with your friends and feel relaxed.

Answer 15

Good question. Here is my story:

I went gaited after riding hunters/jumpers dressage for much of my life. This change took place over 15...actually more like 20 years ago, back when gaited horses were virtually unheard of in my neck of the woods.

People around here are some of the biggest stuck up horse snobs in existence. I live in hunter/jumper/dressage territory.

A lot of top name horse people live in my area. Anne Kursinsky, George Morris, Nona Garson are all local residents....just to name a few, so you understand the level of equine enthusiasts in my neighborhood.

It was rare for people to even ride Western around here until about 25 years ago.

Gaited horses only started gaining in popularity around here in the last 5 ish years or so. Before then, they were just considered common or trash horses.

The only folks riding gaited horses in NJ were field trialers which have a reputation all their own when it comes to horses and riding. I remember hearing that Field trial people were not horse people, but dog people with horses. They were the folks with a $50 saddle on a $100 horse.....yeah, that was a while ago...lol.

As a former field trialer and proud own of one the top winning walking shooting Vizslas in the area in the 1980's, I learned about Tennessee Walking Horses.

One of my field trial friends had a few walking horses and loaned me one during a trial after my Appendix horse had come up lame and I was still due to run my dog.

I was entranced by them. They were a delight to ride and very sensible and level headed.

After that weekend, I put my horses up for sale and haven't bought a trotting horse since.

Now I own TWH's and MFT's. I love their great minds, kind hearts and sensible natures.

I have had the opportunity to ride Pasos and enjoyed them too, however I prefer a bigger horse, but that is just me.

Going forward, I will probably consider one of the Mountain Horse breeds:

http://www.rmhorse.com/

or given the opportunity...I would love to acquire a speed gaiting single footer:

http://www.blueridgesinglefooters.com/id...

This link has some video on it and takes a while to load but will give you some good examples of type and gait.

These are just a few types of gaited horses available.

They are becoming more popular as the Boomers age and the sport of trail riding increases.

Once you go gaited, you never go back.

Why post, when you can coast!

Edit - I am an advocate of the flat shod, naturally gaited horse!

Edit to Jeff - oohhhh you have a speed racker!?! I'm Jealous!

Answer 16

Gated for me, are more beutiful to watch walk.  To ride, Im not so sure.  They seem more difficult to ride because your unbalanced.