Monthly Archives: January 2022

TRAIL TRAINING
Gaits Made Simple
Understanding a horse’s gait may not be as simple as you think. Our author discusses various gaits horse’s employ, how to understand them and how to train your horse to use his natural gait on cue.
BRENDA IMUSAUG 31, 2006 From Horse and Rider

“I know my horse has a smooth saddle gait,” a gal told me at one of my clinics. “When we’re headed for home or he’s rushing to catch up with other horses, it suddenly feels like I’m gliding along on ball bearings. But I don’t know how to achieve that gait the rest of the time. When I try to push him for more speed, he gets very choppy and hard to ride, especially going downhill.”

Have you ever had this problem with your gaited horse? To produce his smoothest saddle gait on cue, you first need to understandhowhe gaits.

Every smooth saddle gait falls somewhere on a spectrum between the perfectly diagonal two-beat trot, and the perfectly lateral two-beat pace. Here, I’ll go over six intermediate saddle gaits: the diagonal gaits (trot and fox trot), the lateral gaits (pace and stepping pace), and the square gaits (walk and running walk). But first, I’ll explain your gaited horse’s unique, inborn talent to work each leg independently from every other leg to produce a smooth ride.

A Unique Talent
Most gaited saddle horses possess a unique quality I termquadridexterity.Just as people are eithermonodextrous(left- or right-handed) orambidextrous(proficient with either hand), horses are either ambidextrous or what I callquadridextrous.

Most people write predominantly with their right hand or left hand. Most of us can do some elementary writing or drawing with our nondominant hand. But if we try to do so with any speed or precision, we soon discover that we’re hardwired to be either right- or left-handed. With practice, ambidextrous people can become equally adept with both hands.

Horses, having four legs, arediagonallyorlaterally ambidextrous.A diagonally ambidextrous horse moves his twodiagonal(opposite side) legs together in perfect, two-beat synchrony: left hind/right fore; right hind/left fore. This constitutes a trot; trotting horses might be likened to right-handed people.

A pacing horse is laterally ambidextrous. He moves his two lateral (same side) legs together in perfect, two-beat synchrony: right fore/right hind; left fore/left hind. Pacing horses might be likened to less common left-handed people.

In either case, there’s generally a moment of suspension when the set of diagonal or lateral legs lifts from the ground before the other set comes down. The concussion or jarring you feel during the trot or pace is the result of the horse’s weight dropping back down to earth at the beginning of each new stride.

On the other hand, a naturally smooth-gaited horse uses each leg independently of every other leg. That’s what I call quadridextrous. And just as ambidextrous people can improve their ability to use each hand independently, quadridextrous horses, too, need to be brought along carefully to properly develop their natural ability to its full potential. This in mind, here’s a look at gait mechanics.

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The Diagonal Gaits
At the diagonal end of the gait spectrum are thetrotand thefox trot.

The trot.The trot is a perfectly timed, two beat gait whereby two sets of diagonal legs (right hind/left front; left hind/right front) pick up and set down in perfect, two-beat rhythm, with a moment of suspension and resultant concussion between strides.

The fox trot.The fox trot is similar to the trot in that each set of diagonal legs move somewhat in unison, but the forefoot lands a microsecond before the diagonally opposed hind foot, breaking the two-beat rhythm. This action eliminates suspension/concussion, and creates an uneven, four-beat gait: 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4. (This rhythm closely mimics the sound of the phrase: “Hunk o’ meat and peck o’ potatoes.”) A naturally fox trotting horse generally has a long, low, reaching stride in front, and a higher, lifting stride behind. He looks as though he’s “walking in front and trotting behind.”

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The Lateral Gaits
At the opposite, lateral end of the gait spectrum are thepaceand thestepping pace.

The pace.Thepaceis a perfectly timed two beat gait whereby the right hind/right fore and left hind/left fore pick up and set down in perfect, two beat rhythm. There’s a moment of suspension/ concussion with each stride. The pace horse also tends to throw his rider from side to side as he swings his body to accommodate the paces’ extreme lateral action.

The stepping pace.Thestepping paceis nearly identical to the pace, except that the hind foot lands a split instant before the same-side forefoot. This eliminates suspension/concussion, and turns it into an imperfectly timed four-beat gait: 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4.

The stepping pace is smooth to ride, but presents inherent problems for both horse and rider. First, when a stepping pace is speeded up, it tends to turn into a rough two-beat pace. More important, this gait can create a hollow, strung-out body frame. Too much of the horse’s body weight is carried on the forehand, then suspended for too long over his hyperextended rear leg. This is why strongly oriented lateral horses tend toward hollow backs, saddling problems, and potentially serious hock and stifle issues. Therefore, encourage your horse to develop a more evenly timed gait; that is, to fox trot, if that’s what he’s built and wired to do. Fortunately, teaching a laterally oriented horse to square up isn’t all that difficult; I’ll discuss training in future issues.

Martha Duchnowski and her gaited Morgan Blythewood Barre Vermont  aka “PeeWee” is this years AMHA open competition trail winner as well as the winner of the General category (where the gaited classes go). congratulation Martha…ride on!

On February 4^th, 2014, I received an email from The American Morgan Horse Associating asking me if I could come to the Morgan Horse Convention on February 22^nd, 2014 because my morgan “Blythewood Barre Vermont” won 2013 high point trail and high point in the “General Category”.

OMG!  Did I read that correctly?   High Point Trail and High Point General?  My heart just soared!  For you see, I’ve had my share of “challenges” with this 8 year old beautiful, well bred horse.

I bought Barre in 2006 from Blythewood Morgans for my son Jimmy.   Jimmy’s morgan was getting up in the years and we were thinking about a younger morgan for Jimmy to show in his 4H shows.   I got Barre cheap because his gait was kind of pacey.   Having done my fair share of rescuing miniature horses, many of the babies were pacey too but grew out of it.

But Barre didn’t outgrow the strange gait.  He remained kind of pacey and my son Jimmy lost interest in him because he didn’t like the gait.  When we backed him and he went into that strange gait, I fell in love with it.  I have Lupus and bruise very easily which makes posting impossible if I don’t want big round bruises on the inside of my knees.  So Barre became my horse and I was riding again.

In the beginning, Barre couldn’t hold either the pace nor a trot, so I contacted a well-know international carriage driver of morgans and her suggestion was to get a vet out that specialized in acupuncture and chiropractic procedures.  I did that and was quite alarmed when the vet told me that my sweet beautiful spirited morgan had severe neurological problems.  After a month of acupuncture, I got my first bill from her and just about died from sticker shock.  So I stopped all treatments.

About this time, I learned that there is such a thing as “gaited” morgans.   When my regular vet came out to tend to another horse of mine, I had her look at Barre.   I put him through his gaits in-hand and she laughed at me and told me that Barre was doing a flat walk and a running walk and that there wasn’t a darn thing wrong with him and “don’t people pay good money for naturally gaited horses”?

I started out training Barre slowly.  Although I am an accomplished carriage driver, I had to learn to ride again and Barre had to learn to carry me.  Initial training took a few years during which my dressage training came back to me which I slowly applied to Barre.  I mostly did trail rides a with him and it wasn’t long before he was responding and yielding to my leg pressure.   I eventually taught myself how to neck rein so I could ride western.

When Barre turned seven, I decided that he needed to get off the farm and to start showing.  In the beginning he was very naughty.   He would whinny the whole time to his buddies tied to the horse trailer as well as refuse to be quiet in the line-up.    It took nearly all of 2012 for him to get used to showing and late in the year, we won our first championship in Country Pleasure.   He was also beginning to do well in trail classes as nothing really bothers him and he trusts me so much.

The show season in 2013 also started out poorly with the naughty behavior, but it soon stopped and before long we were winning most of the Country Pleasure and Trail classes.   We also did well in the all-breed western pleasure walk-trot or walk-gait classes.   We tried a few Judged Pleasure rides with trail obstacles and had a great deal of fun.  In addition to winning the American Morgan Horse’s open competitions trail and general divisions (where the gaited classes go) we won 3rd place in the equitation division. I knew we had improved somewhat from last year, but i never dreamed we would actually win!

Barre is so much fun to ride. He is very light and responsive in the mouth and smooth to ride. It is obvious he really enjoys all the attention and stimulation that riding gives.  His gaiting keeps improving as I read and re-read all the gaited articles that the Gaited Morgan Horse Organization posts to their website.   Combined this new-found knowledge with a solid dressage background from my youth, I hope we keep on improving in 2014.

Steinauer woman, horse complete California endurance ride considered one of world’s toughest

• CHRISTINA LYONS Beatrice Daily Sun Aug 21, 2018

Sarah Rinne and her horse Silver Valley Tate climb Cougar Rock — a notorious stretch of granite that is part of the annual Tevis Cup 100-mile endurance ride in California. Rinne and Tate finished early July 29 after 23 hours and 47 minutes on the trail.

Lori McIntosh of Gore/Baylor Photography 2018

BEATRICE — Sarah Rinne had wanted to ride in the Tevis Cup since she was 9 or 10 years old.

“And 30 years later, it finally happened,” said Rinne, who is from the Pawnee County village of Steinauer. 

Held every year since 1955 on the Western States Trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of northern California, the Tevis Cup is touted as one of the toughest endurance rides in the world.

Riding Silver Valley Tate, Rinne was among 64 competitors who covered all 100 miles in less than 24 hours.

But only just: Rinne and Tate crossed the finish line 23 hours and 47 minutes after they started July 28, finishing 58th. Less than half of the field completed the race.

“We were the last of 152 horses out of Robi Park (the starting line) at 5:15 a.m.,” she said. “We averaged 5 to 6 miles per hour throughout the 100 miles.”

Rinne said the toughest part of the ride was the canyons.

“It was not at all what I expected,” she said. “It was about 125 degrees in the canyons and because of the fires, very poor air quality. You can’t realize the full effect until you’re on switchback No. 35 and knowing there are about 37 to go.”

And, of course, part of the race takes place overnight.

“Between 12 and 1 a.m. I was thinking, ‘I could fall asleep on my horse,'” Rinne said. “There were glow sticks on his shoulders, but I couldn’t really see much. We did 32 miles and eight hours in the dark.”

She forded the American River by moonlight, took in sweeping views of high country dotted with wildflowers during the day and crested Cougar Rock — a steep, slick stretch of almost entirely granite and a setting for many dynamic photographs.

“Perhaps the best part was riding and finishing with my mentor and friend, Jonni Jewel,” Rinne said. “I loved watching my horse do his job throughout the entire 100 miles. He is amazing and I completely trusted him.”

Tate is a Morgan horse owned by Dwight and Mary Hanson of Ithaca. He’s 16.1 hands tall and 9 years old.

The majority of the horses competing in the Tevis Cup are Arabians. Rinne said Tate was the only Morgan and only one of two gaited horses entered.

“When Dwight and Mary asked me if I’d like to ride Tate at the Pony Express Competitive Trail Ride at Rock Creek Station (near Fairbury) in August of 2015, I reluctantly said yes, mainly because I was to a point of not wanting to ride horses I didn’t know,” Rinne said. “But when I rode him, we just clicked and I just thought to myself with more development, Tate had Tevis potential.”

Preparing for mountain riding when you live in a flat region is a challenge. However, the two did interval and hill training to prepare for the mountainous terrain.

Rinne planned to compete in the Tevis Cup in 2017. However, Tate had lameness issues. By then, they had both been training for two years.

The ride has two mandatory one-hour rest stops and various vet checks along the trail. Crews are positioned at the stops to help care for the teams.

Shari Parys of Gretna served as a crew member for Rinne and Jewel.

“It was amazing,” Parys said. “It couldn’t have been a more special Tevis, with Sarah riding the horse owned by my other good friends, Dwight and Mary, and having such a good mentor Jonni, and her experienced crew chair, Sara, to help with the success. Seeing them cross the finish line was beyond words.”

Rinne, a mother of four, operates Rinne Hay Service and raises cattle with her husband, Seth.

“I am just so blessed to have been able to do this,” she said. “I would like to do it again. I’m always up for an adventure or challenge.”

Sarah Rinne and her horse Silver Valley Tate climb Cougar Rock — a notorious stretch of granite that is part of the annual Tevis Cup 100-mile endurance ride in California. Rinne and Tate finished early July 29 after 23 hours and 47 minutes on the trail.

She forded the American River by moonlight, took in sweeping views of high country dotted with wildflowers during the day and crested Cougar Rock — a steep, slick stretch of almost entirely granite and a setting for many dynamic photographs.

“Perhaps the best part was riding and finishing with my mentor and friend, Jonni Jewel,” Rinne said. “I loved watching my horse do his job throughout the entire 100 miles. He is amazing and I completely trusted him.”

Tate is a Morgan horse owned by Dwight and Mary Hanson of Ithaca. He’s 16.1 hands tall and 9 years old.

The majority of the horses competing in the Tevis Cup are Arabians. Rinne said Tate was the only Morgan and only one of two gaited horses entered.

“When Dwight and Mary asked me if I’d like to ride Tate at the Pony Express Competitive Trail Ride at Rock Creek Station (near Fairbury) in August of 2015, I reluctantly said yes, mainly because I was to a point of not wanting to ride horses I didn’t know,” Rinne said. “But when I rode him, we just clicked and I just thought to myself with more development, Tate had Tevis potential.”

Preparing for mountain riding when you live in a flat region is a challenge. However, the two did interval and hill training to prepare for the mountainous terrain.

Rinne planned to compete in the Tevis Cup in 2017. However, Tate had lameness issues. By then, they had both been training for two years.

The ride has two mandatory one-hour rest stops and various vet checks along the trail. Crews are positioned at the stops to help care for the teams.

Shari Parys of Gretna served as a crew member for Rinne and Jewel.

“It was amazing,” Parys said. “It couldn’t have been a more special Tevis, with Sarah riding the horse owned by my other good friends, Dwight and Mary, and having such a good mentor Jonni, and her experienced crew chair, Sara, to help with the success. Seeing them cross the finish line was beyond words.”

Rinne, a mother of four, operates Rinne Hay Service and raises cattle with her husband, Seth.

“I am just so blessed to have been able to do this,” she said. “I would like to do it again. I’m always up for an adventure or challenge.”