stumbling gaited horse

["Linda B. Merims" <lbm@naisp.net>]

Here's several ideas.  Take them as just ideas.  They could very well
be wrong...

If your horse is truly doing a rack (and not a running walk or
one of the many other broken lateral gaits), she may just be tired.

A rack is widely held among Saddlebred types (where distinguishing a
real rack is important) to be a very, very tiring gait.  In fact,
Saddlebred trainers will tell you there's no quicker way to ruin a
5-gaited horse than to make it rack too much--you either end up with a
pacer or a horse that constantly breaks into a canter.  Trainers
are loathe to sell a good 5-gaited horse to a novice because,
dollars-to-donuts, they'll overdo the gait and ruin the horse.

And Ray's comment on Truman's advice is right-on:  correctly shoeing
any gaited horse--whether TWH or another flavor--requires an expert.
Those same-side feet have to get out of each other's way mighty quick to
make the gait comfortable and sustainable for a horse.  The usual offense
with a gaited show farrier is a foot that's too long in the toe, with
the pastern too slanted.  This configuration is popular with the show
types because it exaggerates the front motion, but it is hopeless--late
breakover and hard on the deep flexor that attaches to the coffin bone
under the navicular--with a trail horse.

Lastly:  have the vet check for stifle soreness.  High rear lameness like
this is very common in gaited horses.  However, the kind of stumbles you
get with rear lameness are pretty unique:  more like staggering with
the hind end dropping out from underneath you and the head going up in
the air than dropping the head and going down in front.

And, to be very cold-blooded about it, if you can't figure out what
the problem is, sell her as a pasture ornament and get a different
horse.

Linda B. Merims
lbm@naisp.net
Massachusetts, USA