Re: RC: Re: Fox Trotting Arab

["Truman Prevatt, Ph.D." <truman.prevatt@netsrq.com>]

Yep Duncan, there are a lot of subtitles when one tries to describe these
gaits and how to get them in precise terms. But I believe Lee Ziegler is right
on in her observation and that has allowed her to be very successful in her
approach of training. Start at the trot which to do correctly required a
rounding of the back. If you take a gaited horse (walking horse, saddlebred,
paso, etc., again depending on the horse ) and train it like a dressage horse,
getting its back rounded, then it will most likely, trot.  As you slowly have
it straighten out its back it will break the diagonal and go to a fairly
square gait when its back is slightly rounded to level. It will become more
pacy as its back goes from the straight to a more hollowed configuration.

There are also several square gaits. There is the rack of the Saddlebred, the
quatro (Paso) and the running walk. The basic difference between a quarto and
rack is (mechanically) speed and leg action. The running walk is different
from these two gaits in two respects - which are actually related. The first
overstride. The walking horse has anywhere from a foot to 2 feet of over
stride in this gait.  This partially comes from the conformation of the horse
but also is a result of his "wiring".

This overstride results in the head nod at the gait.  These two give rise to
the appearance of the gliding motion of the gait. The running walk can easily
transition into a fox trot as the square gait becomes more diagonal. In this
case much of the overstride will disappear and the nod will also disappear. As
the walking horse speeds up he may transition into a rack in case the
overstride and nod will again disappear.

None of these gaits has anything to do with the "fast walk" that many trotting
horses will do. On most trotting horses these gaits are forces and are not
very efficient. Sort of like a human trying to walk at 6 mph instead of
breaking into a jog. This is why the horses will not do the gait unless push
on and not allowed to break into a trot. Left to their own devices, they would
trot.  Where as at these speed, a gaited horse would eaisly relax into a nice
four beat gait. There are some exceptions to this - many Morgans do gait
naturally as do some Arabs and Appys.

Truman

Duncan Fletcher wrote:

> I am getting a bit out of my league on this issue, but my understanding of
> the mechanics of gait is that the more hollow (or less bascule) the back,
> the more pacey the gait (complement of Lee Ziegler who hangs out on the
> gaited horse list). The more bascule the back, the more trotty - extreme
> bascule in dressage horses produces a dissassociated trot with a foot fall
> sequence the reverse of the walk. Different horse may give the same gait
> with different degrees of hollow/bascule and there is a contiuum of flexion
> from hollow to neutral to bascule. The fox trot is on the trot side of
> timing and there on the bascule side of flexion - but less so than a trot.
> The rack (tolt) is an even 4-beat and would require a more neutral back.
> Again, the degree would depend on the individual horse.
>
> Duncan Fletcher
> dfletche@gte.net
>

--
Truman Prevatt
Brooksville, FL

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