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Re: [RC] Gaiting (videos included) - Sharon LevasseurI bought him at 6yo, and by chance we got a lot of snow that winter so we had to walk the whole winter. I spent the time teaching him to walk faster to keep up with his riding buddy, a much taller horse. Lo and behold, that spring he began to foxwalk (only I didn't know what it was called, I just knew it was smooth). Turns out, all the walking had really beefed up his "4-beat muscles" and made him capable of doing gaits that his conformation already allowed. That's why he'd never done it before... no muscle memory for it. I took him to Liz Graves for 4 days of clinics over a 3-week period, and he made great progress. Since then, not as much progress since I've been letting him trot/canter, but if he's in the mood he can really boogie. It's a handy gait, especially for slight downhill trails that are tricky-enough footing not to want to trot... we can really make up time by foxtrotting. FYI... a foxwalk is a slower and less extended version of a foxtrot. He had to learn that before he could speed it up into a foxtrot. -Sharon & Zephyr in Maine Quoting laneyhh@xxxxxxxxxxx: Great videos, Sharon! Thanks so much for sharing. Did Zephyr begin to gait all on his own or did you have to train him? Laney -------------- Original message -------------- From: Sharon Levasseur <sharon1359@xxxxxxxxxxx>This is an excellent point. Zephyr (an Arab x Rocky Mountain Horse) has a "trail foxtrot" instead of a "show foxtrot" ... yet it still looksdifferentthan the trail foxtrot that a Missouri Foxtrotter might perform. Zephyr's Foxtrot (2005) ... Sorry the bells are so loud! And please forgivemyequitation... I was having to put more weight in the stirrups than usual. http://www.zegifts.com/Design/Assets/images/zephyrfoxtrot.wmv Zephyr's Foxwalk (2003) http://www.zegifts.com/Design/Assets/images/Zephyr-Foxwalk.WMV Some great foxtrotting videos: http://www.foxtrotters.org/foxtrotting_horse_videos.htm -Sharon L. in Maine Quoting Bruce Weary DC :Thank you, Faustina, for that clarification of the rack. It may interest some folks to know that the different smooth gaits are not so cut and dried, as they are performed by different horses and different breeds, well, differently. A Tennessee Walker can run walk, canter, rack, or pace. My foxtrotter can rack, foxtrot, runwalk, pace, trot and canter. There is a breed called the Racking horse, some of which can do incredible speeds at what is called "speed racking." The world record for a speed racking horse is 37 mph! Many of them can speed rack in the 25-30 mph range. All while the rider sits there drinkin' a Starbucks. There is also the Indian Shuffle, the singlefoot, and any number of variations of smooth gaits. Some horses do them better than others, and I have found it difficult to find sure-footedness combined with excellent gaiting, as some gaited horse can be a bit trippy. I agree that the foxtrotter seems to be one of the best candidates for endurance riding. I know of Tennessee Walkers, Kentucky Mountain Saddle horses and Foxtrotters who have all finished Tevis. FWIW, Dr Q =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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