What about the plantation TWH who is not used for the big l**k, is it then just considered a racking horse?

Question

I know there are some local breeders around my home that breed TWH but for the natural gait not for the show ring fancey just for trail and their natural gates. So would they then be considered just a racking horse? The reason i ask is beacause not to long ago i had a talk with a breeder who just raises "racking horses" and he tryed to tell me they are not like a TWH and went on on how his horses are better at the "gate" which is so sought after in TWH an all a TWH is a fancey expensive version of his "breed". I could not figure out what in fact was the total difference in just a "racking horse" and my beloved walker? Because the way i understand it a Racking horse is just a general term for any horse that can preform that motion (rack) reguardless of its actual breed just as long as it can be proformed. I really love the ride of a walker and have been told there is a difference in a "racking horse" and a walker and that given the TWH is not used for over striding paded show rings a walker is a bit better ride.? any thoughts?

Answer 1

The answer is No , HE is just a pleasure horse""

The rack as you call it is Not a natural gait it's man made



3 gaited ones are just that, then there are five gaited

But you have your breed all wrong its only in SADDLE BREDS

NOT WALKERS

People that do not know that a Standbred bred is not gaited

It trots or pace



Then a Walker is just thata walker with other natural gaits related to walking



Saddlebreds are the ones that have 5 gaits and the rack

Answer 2

And this belongs in the racing section because....?

The running walk and the rack are two different gaits. A TWH can be a barefoot trail horse and if it can't rack, it'd be pretty silly to call it a racking horse. If a TWH racks and is a registered racking horse, then yes, you can consider it a racking horse. (Yes, there is a racking horse registry.) Many racking horses do come from TWH stock and some are double registered.

The running walk is not and shouldn't be a fast gait. Many of the horses in the show ring are doing a saddle rack or step pace. The rack tends to be faster. Some speed rackers can reach 20+ mph. The show rackers get to go through all the same junk the TWH suffer through - heavy shoes, too long feet, chains and action devices, riders hunched over like drunk turtles. They're just as fancy.

TWH aren't expensive. You can pick up well broke trail horses for 1-2K all day and all night. Same for rackers. Buying a WGC is another story, but I doubt you want that.

There really is no "better" or "best" gait. I primarily ride hilly, uneven terrain with soft footing - a racker would be dead useless. That one-foot support phase just doesn't lend itself to poor footing. Even a horse with a good running walk has trouble hitting his stride, and the show-bred horses with extreme overstride are of no use. I find a nice foxtrot is the best gait for me. If I lived back in TN and was riding on totally different trails, that would change.

ETA: I don't know what the other answerer is smoking, but ASB are certainly not the only breed that racks! Many, many breeds rack naturally. http://www.rackinghorse.com/