Re: Re: Fox Trotting Arab

["Duncan Fletcher" <dfletche@gte.net>]

I agree with most of this, but the paso llano (Peruvian rack) and the largo
(Extended Paso Fino rack) both require overstride - but probably not to the
degree of the best of the walkers. The difference is while all of the above
have even set down timing, only the running walk has even pick up timing.

Duncan Fletcher
dfletche@gte.net


----- Original Message -----
From: "Truman Prevatt, Ph.D." <truman.prevatt@netsrq.com>
To: "Duncan Fletcher" <dfletche@gte.net>; "RideCamp"
<ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2000 6:32 AM
Subject: RC: Re: Fox Trotting Arab


> 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
>