Hock Wringing In The Gaited Horse
By Gaye DeRusso Wringing of the hock is a twisting motion in the leg that causes the hock to be pulled outward and looks like it is bowing out, and the foot will twist with weight on the outside of its foot. It is a common problem in the Tennessee Walking Horse because it was in the older breed lines (foundation stock) and has been passed down from generation to generation. It is especially noticeable when the horse is on soft ground such as sand. It is best seen from standing behind the horse and watching it walk away. Look at the hips as the horse walks then scan down to the hocks and watch if they get pulled outward and then watch to see if the foot also twists into the ground. If you have never seen it before it can be quite disturbing to see. Some of the horses have a mild wring and some will be severe. Although you see it mostly at the hock it is coming from higher up in the leg. If you watch closely, you will see there is rotation coming from the hip into the stifle that then transfers down the leg into the hock and fetlock. Most Tennessee Walking Horse people do not believe it is a conformation defect and many are use to seeing it so it has become the norm to some of those people. Why would this be bred into them. Well, many are just looking for gait and not for conformation. So, they bred for the gait and many that wring are consider loose and swingy which they desire, and they can reach way under themselves when their hocks wring. Also due to the movement, many do not step on their front feet and forge. Lastly although it looks so strange, some of these horses are extremely comfortable to ride and surefooted. You would never think it from watching them, but I have ridden many. In many gaited horse breeds, the Tennessee Walking Horse has been introduced into their breeding lines if they wanted to get more stride, so even if your horse is not a Tennessee Walking Horse, it could have wringing of the hocks that was bred into it. You will see wringing in more extreme forms in the Padded Performance Show Horses as they are carrying an excessive amount of weight on their hindquarters which causes it to be obvious to see. Other reasons a horse will wring its hock is an unbalanced hind foot. If the shoer leaves the inside (medial) heel higher than the outside (lateral) side, it can cause the hock to twist outward. So, the inside heel needs to be taken down. If the hock is twisting inwards, then the outside heel needs to be taken down. So, it is very important with horses that twist their hocks to be balanced medial to lateral in their foot and to have a shoe that supports the side of their foot. If the horse is weak or unconditioned this also can cause wringing of the hock and with strength training and conditioning the wringing will improve. If the horse cannot get traction with the foot this can cause the hock twisting, as they cannot dig into the ground to propel themselves further. So, a shoe with traction such as a rim shoe can help, this is why it is also more obvious to see when they are on soft ground. Other causes can be the horse is neurologic or has a neck or spine problem that causes it to be unbalanced and weak and those will not improve unless you treat what is causing the horse to be weak. This twisting motion can also be improved with body work and chiropractic visits. If the horse has weak quads and tight adductors it can cause its hocks to wring. So, there is not just one simple way to improve wringing hocks, if you care for your horse, you will want to work on all of it. Some shoers will want to put caulks or trailers on the shoe to decrease the wringing, but this causes other issues which are worse. Since it will stop the foot and hock from twisting there will be more force put on the horse’s stifle and SI joint. Barefoot in the beginning does not give much traction and therefore they may twist more. If you balance the foot and give more support with a good outside support on the shoe and some traction such as a rim shoe, then rehab the horse, in time you may get him to go barefoot again. But he may need shoes to help him get to that point. Although some horses have no problems at all due to the wringing hocks, some will get a sore back, SI issues or hock pain. But we have horses in their 20's with twisting hocks and now some are getting SI and hock injections to make them more comfortable, but at 20 most horses are getting something to keep them comfortable. So even though this is disturbing to see if you have not seen it before, know that it was bred into some lines, know that it can be improved with proper balancing of the foot and conditioning of the horse and chiropractic or body work treatments. But keep in mind if your horse did not do this before and it has been in constant work and not weak, but it is starting to wring that it may have a neck or spine issue or a neurologic disease that is causing it and should be evaluated by your vet.
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Different Types of Tennessee Walking Horses -WGC vs Heritage Breeding
By Gaye DeRusso Tennessee Walking Horses have changed so much over the years and not exactly for the better in my opinion. What use to be a smooth, athletic, strong, intelligent, willing, and gentle horse has now been bred to some extremes for the padded show ring. They are still great horses, but now you will see some variations within the breed, depending on what they are bred for. Years ago, they were bred for a smooth natural gait, good temperament and to be a good work horse. They called this breeding - Heritage bred. They could work in a harness and plow the fields and take you down the trail or into town. They needed to do it all. When they were no longer used to work on the farms and provide transportation, they began to show them more. As showing became more popular, the breeding began to change. The TWH in the 1930's and 40's was not the same horse that it became in the 50's. And what was a naturally gaited, surefooted, strong horse became something different when it was bred for the padded show ring. The previous bloodlines were all but lost except for the few breeders who did not join the movement. The bloodlines then became more dominated by the horses bred for the show ring that were pacey, had a very large over stride and not so naturally gaited. Many call them WGC - World Grand Champion bloodlines. The ones that are bred to be shown with packages on their feet, are usually on the pacey side. That way when they add that weight or action devices to their foot, they look like they are doing the correct gait of the running walk, but most are step pacing in reality. If you added the action devices to one that just gaits or is on the trotty side, then they usually will not hold the gait and will fox trot or trot. These WGC horses are more lanky, flexible and can have more wringing in their hocks in some of the breeding lines. They tend to have very large over strides, not just a foot but many over stride a couple of feet or more. If you are trying to make one of these horses into a trail horse, it’s helpful to know that you really need to ride them. You need to ride them with collection to hold them together and get the best out of them. Because they are more lanky, have a large stride and pacey, if you do not collect them, many will get trippy because they are covering so much ground. Without the weighted package many keep their feet low to the ground, so they catch on more obstacles. They also are used to arena footing and not trail footing so it can take a year or more for them to figure out how to use their feet and get over obstacles. Their stifles are so loose so they can get that over stride but due to that, their stifles can give out more often if you do not keep the muscles strong around them. Those horses if you’re going to ride steep terrain, can have a difficult time going down the steep hills. That large stride makes it very difficult to get under themselves and shorten their stride to get down easier, so many will go down steep hills side ways to make it easier for them. They also tend to slide their feet more which can cause them to slip more often on mud, roads, and granite. So, they are not as surefooted since they were bred for the show ring and not for trail. They reach out so far with their front legs and therefore they cover so much ground with one step that they need to clear more obstacles. This makes it more difficult for the horse when there are tree roots, rocks etc. on the trail. A horse with a shorter stride is usually more surefooted. When riding these types of horses, you have to stay alert to the footing you are riding on. Keep the horse paying attention to where it is putting its feet. Keep more contact so you can ride with semi collection and help the horse to shorten its stride to get down the trail safely. Think of riding the horse with more engagement and getting it to drive with its backend and lighten its front end. This will help it to stay more surefooted on the trail. Some of these horses are very calm so you need to keep giving them little jobs, so they pay attention. Because they are lanky and flexible, if you do not hold them together, they can feel wobbly especially if they are pacey. So, the more you help them to stay straight and stiffer with their body, the more comfortable the ride. If you ride them with little contact, they tend to wobble down the trail and you get a lot of motion in the saddle. These are the horses that tend to have that camel walk when they are going slow and that is not a very comfortable walk. Due to the horse being on the pacey side and being lanky and flexible these horses will look very weird to most people and most people think they are lame if they are not ridden correctly. They can look spastic when running loose and usually cannot hold a canter very well when running loose, they tend to fall into a pace or cross canter. They can be very heavy on their front end, due to their conformation, some have a deep narrow chest, longer neck, and larger head. All of this can make them heavy in the front end, so easier to trip and fall if not ridden in a balanced frame. The ones bred for the show ring but for a lighter shoe, tend to not be as pacey. They may even just gait or trot some when loose. They will have over stride but usually not as much and although they can be lanky and flexible its usually not as extreme. These horses also do well ride in semi collection but will be able to have more self-carriage. So, you will even see some slack in the rein in the show ring. They may have a longer toe and a heavier shoe on but when they are taken down to a natural foot it is not as extreme, so it is easier for the horse to adjust. Many of these riders will show but also trail ride, so these horses usually have a better conversion over to trails. Since they are not as pacey, less overstride, they are usually more surefooted and less trippy. They still can have looser stifles which may give at times, so a strengthening program also helps. They can get down the steeper hills easier but still may have some issues with super steep. They still slide their feet some so they can slide in mud, roads, and on granite. Now the Tennessee Walking Horses bred back in the 1930 and 40's were the most versatile Tennessee Walking Horses. As they were bred to do everything, ride the plantations up to 30 miles per day, ride for transportation, ride down the trail, plow the fields, pull a wagon, herd the cows, and teach the kids to ride. You need a well-bred horse to do all those things. Ones that are gentle, stockier, strong, athletic, not spooky, well gaited, surefooted, good conformation, even cowy, that had great temperaments, stamina, and endurance. These are the Tennessee Walking Horses called Heritage bred and one breeder that was in Alabama has them named after him and that is McCurdy Plantation Horse. These are Walking Horses that look more like normal horses. They have good conformation, straight legs, over stride but not very large and a natural gait. So, if you have one of these and you keep hearing about other people’s walkers that are pacey and trippy, you now know why, because they have a different type of walker then you do. You have Heritage and they most likely have WGC bred. If they would just go back to breeding more of these types of walkers, then people would have a lot less trail problems. You still have to ride them correctly to get the best gait but horses that are bred well for the trail, make better trail horses. Also, if they grow up, running in the fields up and down hills, they become more surefooted on their own. They figure out how to move over the terrain to stay balanced. When horses are used for multiple jobs like they did in the old days, they become very tolerant and versatile and adjust so much easier to any job asked of them. You can't expect a horse that is bred for the arena, never gets to run loose on different types of terrain and hills or that never goes out on trail to be good climbing over logs and going up and down steep hills. It can get better in time with training and experience, but it has to learn how to do those things. And due to how it is bred, some horses will never be a great surefooted trail horse because it was bred to be a padded show horse. This is why so many Tennessee Walking Horses are now so misunderstood by vets, and their riders. Because we have bred them into something else. Something that does not do as well on the trail. Don't get me wrong these still are my favorite horses because even the ones not bred so well for the trail are the sweetest horses and try so hard, but some are just not able to be great on the trail unless you are riding them every moment to help them. So don't pass over the walking horse when looking for a great trail horse because they are not all the same. But do your homework and if your riding steep or difficult trails, look for ones bred for that purpose. One that are stockier, thick strong bone, athletic, not a huge overstride, gait when loose and have ridden steep terrain, because then they are not only built to do the job well, but they have already done the job you need them to do. Look for ones that are Heritage Bred not ones bred for the show ring if you are trail rider and want to have a more versatile walking horse. For more information on the Heritage Bred Walking Horses, go to this link. http://www.ihwha.com/gaits.html and https://mccurdyhorses.com Rocky Mountain Horse
By Gaye DeRusso The Rocky Mountain Horse seems to be one of the most popular gaited horses at this time and one of the most expensive. Everyone loves their calm temperament, color, and shorter stride. But if you are getting one there are some things to know. Some have a natural smooth gait. Others are on the trotty or pacey side and some both trot and pace. This can make gaiting them more difficult. If you bought one that was trained well, even if it trots or paces when loose, it should know the basics of arena and trail riding and gait well. If you bought one that was not trained well or had an owner that did not know how to gait it, you may be taking on somewhat of a project. It maybe young or old and still be a project due to the previous trainers or owners. Some of the trotty ones are not as smooth and have more wiggle in the saddle when you ride their gait, so always best to gait them and make sure it is what you are looking for. The more you educate yourself, the more you will be able to pick the right one for you, or to help the one you have, if you already bought a Rocky. Let’s start with gait. If it just gaits all the time when loose, it will be pretty easy to gait under saddle you just need to go the right speed. You should make sure the horse will do a slow trail walk, then also do a faster gait like a flat walk or slow rocky gait and then a faster rocky gait (saddle gait) and canter, if you want to canter. Many that just gait, can be harder to get to canter, because their gait is lateral, and the canter is diagonal, so just matters if the canter is important to you, you want to know how hard it will be to get. When they do their rocky gait, their head will be still, you should feel a side-to-side wiggle in the saddle, or it will be smooth, and the horse's tail will bounce up and down. If the horse just trots when loose, when you go to gait, it will most likely fall toward the trotty side of the gaited spectrum and go into a fox trot. The fox trot is a diagonal gait. You will feel a soft up and down in the saddle, the horses head will shake up and down and their tail usually waves like a flag. The fox trot is a nice gait but if you want them to do their rocky gait, you will have to help them. You will have to invert their back to get them to go lateral toward the rocky gait. You may have to bring their head up to your chest level to tense up their neck and if it still trots then try turning their head sideways as this also helps them to go lateral. If you ride with their back round and their head down, they will just fox trot or trot. You need to ride them in the correct frame to help them get that rocky gait and that's an inverted frame. You need to take them being diagonal to lateral and that is not an easy task. Over time you can bring their head lower and relax their back some, but they may always need some inversion to do their best rocky gait. The good news is the trotty ones canter pretty easy. If the horse just paces when loose, then it is already lateral, but too lateral, so you will need to try and get the horse framed up with their head down and a round back. That might be enough but if you feel a soft bounce then you now have a step pace, and you need to do some lateral movements such as circles, leg yield, shoulder, or hindquarters in to get them from the step pace to the rocky gait. Also make sure they are relaxing their back when you bring their head down, not just putting their head down with a tense back. A pacey horse will be harder to get into the canter, so if you want to canter, make sure you test the horse when you ride it to see how difficult it may be. Now depending on where you are riding, the terrain will affect the horse’s gait, so going up and down hills and going in different terrain can cause that horse to go from lateral to diagonal or diagonal to lateral. So, you have to understand that up hills make them trotty, down hills make them pacey, hard footing can make them pacey and deep footing can make them trotty and then you need to adjust the horse to keep them in gait. Wonder why they show their gait on the hard road, because they don't have to adjust the horse much to keep it in the same gait and speed. But once you get that horse home, you need to have a clue of how to ride it. Now let’s talk about age. The Rockies are so calm that many are sold to beginners or people getting back into horses and many older riders tend to buy them. But just because they are calm, does not mean they won't do anything bad. They are still young, so you need to know how to deal with a young horse. Make sure it is prepared for the job you want it to do, make sure you do ground work and get it to respect you and have a trainer nearby that is willing to help you. So many get these young Rockies and just want to walk slow, then the horse blows up for what they think is no reason. But there is a reason, it is young, it is not getting its energy out or using its brain and then something happens, and the horse just reacts. This is not a bad horse; this is just a young horse. These horses can also have eye problems such as MCOA- Multiple congenital ocular anomalies, it is associated with the gene responsible for the silver dappling, which you can read about, but if you’re buying one, have its eyes checked so you know and you can have it checked for the gene. Rockies can have stifle issues which many gaited horses can, so make sure to keep them conditioned and do a stifle strengthening program. They tend to be easy keepers, so if you do not exercise them enough or over feed them, they can become insulin resistant. So be very careful with their weight and if you’re not riding much, feed less not more or get a hay net or grazing muzzle to slow their eating down. Rockies are great horses, but you should educate yourself and make sure they are the right breed for you and that you pick the right one for your skill level and get an age and temperament you can deal with. Not all are calm, and some have been ridden so fast, they are too fast for the new owner. So, test the horse well, ride it several times, work with the seller to learn how to ride it and get support from a trainer if you are new, just gettting back into horses or it is a young horse. But just like all the gaited breeds, Rockies are great horses. The Perfect Horse
By Gaye DeRusso I have people contact me all the time looking for the perfect horse. Some of them take years looking for this horse. Some even go so far as to breed the horse or to buy a yearling. But even those horses will never be perfect. You might not like it's personality or it's gait once it is mature. By having this idea in your head that there is the perfect horse, you miss out on a lot of great horses, and you also lose precious time. We only have so much time on this earth, so wasting years in a search is a very sad thing. I have seen some search for years and by the time they found what they thought was the perfect horse, they can no longer had time to ride or could not ride because of medical reasons, or their finances changed, and they kept the horse for a year and then sold it. All those years they spent searching, they could have been riding instead. If I had a horse that was close to what they were looking for, it was the wrong color, wrong breed, wrong sex, the wrong height, or the wrong age. Something was always wrong. I finally learned not to help these people and just to move on, because I could never get them what they wanted. They not only wasted my time and other seller’s times, but they wasted their own precious time with that search. There is no perfect horse. Every horse like every person will have good things and bad things about them. That is just the way life is, so you have to choose what works best for you and then work with the horse to make it into what you want, but never forget, no horse will be perfect. If you want calm, never spooks, super safe, anyone can ride, that is usually a dull, lazy horse. It may not gait the best, and you may have to help it to gait. But it may gait very nicely if you just put in some effort. It doesn't spook because it doesn't care about anything, even where it is going, so it may be trippy and not be surefooted. You may have to wear spurs because it is dull or carry a stick and it may not be fast enough to keep up with your friends. If it gaits perfectly then it may have something else wrong like it is a spooky horse. It never goes out of gait but doesn't want to go down the road alone. Never wants to lead the ride or the opposite, may be bold and too fast, out of control in groups. Maybe it is the most beautiful horse you have ever seen, but without consistent work it turns into a nut or becomes stubborn and won't leave the barn. Or it comes up with an injury or medical issue. Time is precious. I am not saying to not have a wish list but be realistic in what you are looking for. Your list should not have 20 things on it. It should have more like 6 things, temperament, trainability, experience, gait, gelding or mare and sound enough for the job you want it to do. I can tell you some of the most famous horses in the world were horses, that other people over looked. Ones that were found by accident or was all they could afford. But the owners put all they had into making it a great horse, that's why I love the story of Harry and The Snowman. That horse made him famous and was an old plow horse going to the glue factory yet he became a Grand Prix Horse. All the horses I have kept for personal horses, have been ones, that were not good sale horses or one’s people kept passing on. All my horses have been great horses. I never picked a color or height. I just let the universe decide what I should have. The one horse taught me everything about behavior issues and gaiting because he was all I could afford and due to him, I became a gaited trainer. The next one did all the expos and demos with me and gave so many lessons. He really was a great work horse for me and now is a great trail horse for a client. Now I have 2 more and they also have taught me many things and helped my business as well as provide hours and hours of fun on the trail. Sometimes you just have to get out of your own brain of all your wants and just get a good horse, then make it great. Otherwise, you may lose all that precious time, that could have been wonderful. Everyone has dreams of what they want, but those that make them come true, don't spend time dreaming, they spend time making the dream into a reality. The Well-Traveled Horse
By Gaye DeRusso Buying horses can be a difficult task. One thing, I like to look for when buying a horse, is how much has it traveled? Why? Because a horse that is well traveled will adjust easier to its new home. It will more then likely trailer well alone and with other horses. They are used to getting on and off the trailer and when they get off, they are in a different place. Just like people who travel all the time, they are use to it and therefore, do not stress out. They arrive and just settle into their new atmosphere so much easier. The horse that has been at the same ranch or the same boarding stable for most its life with the same horses, worries me. Especially if they were always ridden off the property to trails and never trailered anywhere else. Horses get use to what they do all the time, so if they are with the same horse all its life, or the same trails, it will usually be pretty mellow there because it is use to it. But taking a horse that has lived and been ridden in the same place for 16 years and bringing it to a new home with different horses will be a stressful situation for that horse. It is not used to traveling and it is not used to being without those certain friends, so it has a higher chance of going through a lot of stress for several months or a year before it settles in and is comfortable. So, it probably won't act as calm as it was when you tried it, in fact you may think they drugged it because it is so different. But it wasn't drugs it was just that it was comfortable in the situation that it had been in all those years. So, pulling it away from its only friends and driving it far away, when it is not used to trailering, will cause so much stress that it may get ulcers, not eat and even colic. I like to take the horses I am selling and travel with them. I take them to new places, let them meet new horses and let them stay over in different places. This way they get use to traveling and use to just settling in. They don't need that one buddy because they have many new buddies to be with. It causes a lot less stress and the horses adjust pretty easily to their new home. If you plan to travel with your horse, then, if possible, get one that has done a fair amount of traveling with its previous owner. But if you buy a horse that has been at the same place for 14 years, never trailered out, then the adjustment to the new facility may take a long time, months to a year. In the meantime, they may scream, run around frantic and be completely stressed out. Also, it may not trailer very well, or load or unload easily. This is normal for a horse that has not traveled much. Of course you can teach it to travel it just takes time, patience and repetition. So if you want to make it easier on you and the horse, know what you plan on doing with the horse and try and get one that has done that job before. The Starter Horse
By Gaye DeRusso If I could get anyone to listen to me when they are just getting back into horses or they are a beginner, I would recommend that everyone get a starter horse. A starter horse is a kind, calm, older, experienced horse that is very forgiving of all your mistakes. They have arthritis so less likely to buck or rear or even to spook. They don't get mad when you pull too much or give the wrong cues or lose your balance and if you don't know what to do, they take care of you. These horses are older about 18 years and up, even a 25-year-old can be a great starter horse. By getting a starter horse, you get to learn. And if you make mistakes, it is usually not a big deal, because the starter horse knows what it needs to do, even if you don't. But most people do not want a starter horse. When they come to look at my horses, I usually have an older one for sale and when I see how they move and what they know or they tell me they haven't ridden for years, that’s the horse I tell them should buy. They kindly thank me and say no thanks, I do not want one that is old. Every time someone comes who cannot ride this is the horse I recommend and over and over they pass on him or her. Because it’s not their dream horse. The whole point of a starter horse is to get started. To get started and to learn how to be a good horseman and how to be a good rider. Because both those things take some years to get accomplished and it’s much easier to do those things on an easy horse. Having a horse that does not know what to do and a rider who does not know what to do, can be a dangerous match. They can't save you when you need help, and you can't save them, when they need help, cause neither one knows what to do yet. So, it’s best to have an experienced calm well-mannered older horse with an inexperienced rider and have an experienced rider with the inexperienced horse, those are matches that do well. The starter horse is the smartest way to go and once you are better and have great horsemanship and riding skills, then buy the dream horse that you want. You will have so many more choices if you actually learn how to ride well first, then being a beginner or timid or inexperienced rider looking for that dream horse. When I tell people this, they tell me that they will then be stuck with the older horse, paying for its care and its board. And I think yes you should because it saved you so much money and kept you from becoming fearful and having accidents, you should pay for it. It will still be cheaper than doing it their way and getting hurt or losing confidence or not wanting to ever get on a horse again. Retirement care is not as much as regular board since you only need pasture, or a paddock and you do not need an arena since you are not riding them anymore. But you could use them as a guest horse or a lesson horse or therapy horse if they are still able to do some work or they could be someone else’s starter horse. When I worked at a lesson stable, none of the students knew how old our horses were. Most were pretty old. Because the older ones usually are more forgiving. But we had one that was pretty darn old, probably close to 30, none of us knew because he had been around so long. We could put anyone on him and just leave them to practice. We knew they would be safe even if they had no idea what to do. His name was Louie, and he would never go faster than a slow trot because he wasn't able to anymore. He taught so many adults and children how to ride and no one ever fell off. Louie did camps and shows, but all at a walk or slow trot. And he took great care of everyone. Even though he was old, he was very happy to keep working and be useful. Louie was the best starter horse. Starter horses are also cheaper and although they made need some maintenance to keep them serviceably sound, it is still cheaper than a hospital bill or you having to miss work because you got injured. So, although you are looking for your dream horse, if you do not ride well, or are getting back into horses or you do not have much experience, or have poor balance, or make poor decisions, then you would be much better off with a starter horse. And in time you might find that starter horse is your dream horse, you just were just looking at horses the wrong way. Each Gaited Horse's Gait, Can Look Different
By Gaye DeRusso If you weren't confused before, here's more confusion. Did you know that even if the horses are the same breed and doing the same gait, that it can look different. Yes, that's right, because each horse moves a little differently. They may have a longer or shorter stride, they have different conformation which affects how their legs move, so they may pick up their front legs higher or keep them lower to the ground, they may pick up their back feet higher or slide them above the ground, if they are built upright, they may have a higher head carriage, if they are built downhill they may have a lower head carriage, if they have a long back or a short back the gait will look different, if they use their shoulders more, they may have more head shake in certain gaits, if they have more hock action their tail may bounce up and down more, if they are trotty their legs will look more separated and if they are pacey their legs will look closer together. So, when looking at gait you have to consider how that individual horse moves. A horse on the pacey side will never have the separation of legs like a horse on the trotty side unless you teach it to trot. If you have a horse doing a saddle gait and it’s on the trotty side, at moments it may look more like a fox trot even though it is not. If you have a horse on the pacey side, their fox trot may look more like a saddle gait at times. It can be so confusing when you are staring and analyzing what they are doing, or when you are riding and trying to feel what they are doing under neath you. Just know you are not alone; it is confusing for most people. You just try and make the gait the best, but understand why your horse looks different then your friends horse doing the same gait. Realize if they are covering more ground, their horse may have a larger stride. If it smoother it may have less action in its legs or come down in its pasterns more, if it trips more it may keep its legs closer to the ground, if it heavy on the front end it may be built downhill, if it is lighter in the front end, it may be built uphill. If it does not have a lot of head shake it may not use its shoulders as well, it doesn't have much tail bounce then it does not have as much hock action. And some horses are just more athletic than others and some just try harder. So much goes into what it looks like. Just realize you can make your horse so much better, but you cannot make it into something it is not. So, understanding that gaited horses look and feel different doing the same gait, will save you a lot of frustration and help you to be more realistic in your gaited goals! By Gaye DeRusso There are 3 main ways to get a trained horse. Buy one that is already trained. Buy one that is not trained and send it to a trainer. Buy one that is not trained and train it yourself. Although the first one seems the most expensive, it actually is the least expensive, safest and the most time saving choice. So, lets break them down. If you buy a horse that is already trained, and by trained, I mean it knows all the arena work, has lots of good trail experience and gaits well if gaited, it will cost a fair amount. For a trainer or breeder, to find a nice horse, then to train it and then to take care of it with shoeing, and up to date on all its care including yearly dentals and vaccines cost a fair amount. Since Covid horse prices seem to have tripled and with the auctions they have gotten a little out of control, but in our area, it would cost around $12,000 -$30,000 for a good horse in the age range of 8-14 years old. If you buy one that is not trained and send it to a trainer, the cost can vary. But let’s say you found a good-looking horse with potential and cost around $5000 but the horse has not had good care. So, you will need a good shoer to get its feet in better shape $200 every 6 weeks. Needs vet care for vaccines, dental and worming $600. Then boarding of the horse would be about $500 per month at the low end in our area plus training per month for a descent trainer would be about $800 per month. Depending on the horse's talent and the trainer’s talent, and your talent to ride the horse, the training could take 6 -12 months. This will be slowly drained out of your bank account over a year so does not seem as bad until you add it all up. Also even once trained, the horse might not be something you like or can handle as each horse turns out different. Cost for the year is $22,800. If you buy one that is not trained and train it yourself. Cost of horse is around $5,000. Maybe you will board it at home so less cost in board but more time for the care of the horse. Feed $30 per bale in our area, your horse eats about 1 1/2 bales per week. So, $2,160 just for hay, shoer $1,600 per year, vet care $1000, its higher because the horse is not getting worked hard, so it is getting into more trouble which leads to injuries. Now depending on your work schedule, weather, and your talent, depends how fast the horse will get better. But let’s say you can only train the horse for 6 months out of the year due to these facts, so it will take you 2-4 years to train the horse into what you want. In the meantime, you also get injured from falling off the horse several times in the process. So, it’s about $24,040 that you spent in 4 years on the horse, not including your time or the hospital bills which if not covered enough by insurance could be $40,000 and up. So, in the end of 4 years of training the horse at home, to be the horse you want, cost $64,000 not including the time you put in. And if you do not do a good job, it will not be the horse you wanted or needed. Cheap untrained horses cost more money than expensive horses in the end, unless you are one of the lucky ones that found one that was well taken care of and trained, and the owner just gets out of horses. Even though the cost up front is more for a trained well taken care of horse, in the long run it saves money and keeps you safer. $12,000, $22,000 or $64,000 you choose. Gaited Horses and Dog Field Trials
By Gaye DeRusso Dog field trials are a competition for dogs. There are different kinds but the most popular dog field trial where gaited horses are used is for bird dogs. The dogs run in a brace (pair of dogs) while judges observe on horseback. They usually do this twice a day for about 3 hours each for a total of 6 hours. The dogs are worked on live gamebirds. They are required to find the bird and point and wait. Once the judge indicates then the handler/owner flushes the bird out, dog remains staunch on point throughout flush, a blank shot is fired. The dogs are judge on these skills and are faulted if they chase the birds, bark, run out of control or flush the game to early. This is an all-day event and can go on for several days or weeks. To keep up with the dogs, and to find their dogs in the brush, the owners/handlers are on horseback and the judges are also on horseback. There is also something called the gallery, and these are spectators that ride in a group watching the competition. They can be the size of 10 or 30 or more spectators (riders) depending on the event. They use gaited horses for comfort, endurance and to cover the ground easily. The most popular gaited horse used is the Tennessee Walking Horse because of their gait but also ground covering stride, calmness, and willingness to do what the rider ask. But many do use other gaited breeds such as the Missouri Fox Trotter, Rocky Mountain, Racking Horses, and Single Footers to name a few. What do the horses have to be good with? Dogs running all over. Dogs running up from behind, coming out of the brush and even going under their bellies. Dogs in the saddle, in case they get injured or too tired to get back. Dogs attached to a long line that the rider is in control of. Gun fire. Riding in large and smaller groups, separating, going ahead, or falling behind the group without issues. Riding alone. Surefooted, riding over obstacles, through fields with mud, water, poor footing. Ground tying. Standing at trailer for long periods of time. Being staked out at the events, there are no stables at these events, they are usually in the middle of nowhere. Not spooky Goes where it is asked without issues. Neck reins, as handler needs other hand for task. Handlers will get on and off frequently, so standing to get on and parking out to make it easier. The horses must gait well to be smooth and be able to canter and gallop to keep up with the dogs quickly. Good endurance as it is an all-day event. Tough, as they work all day over different terrains, with rocks, mud, water, ditches, roads. Most will be shod to protect their feet from bruising from the rocks. Trailers well, as they go to many events and adjust well to new places. Easy keeper, as the travel and work use a lot of calories. A hard keeper will lose weight easily. Many handlers will sell their older horses and get younger ones to stay competitive, they don't do well if they cannot keep up with their dogs. So many gaited horses for sale have dog field trial experience. What you need to understand if you buy one of these horses, is was the horse in the gallery, just walking and gaiting and watching the event or was the horse in the competition, gaiting fast, galloping with the handler. The ones that were in the competition usually are forward, fast, brave horses. So, they may not know how to go slow or to follow other horses for long periods of time. They might blast through terrain and footing which may scare nervous riders. So, this would not be a good horse, if you just want to walk with your friends on the trail, but would be a great horse, if you ride alone or you ride fast in groups. A horse that was ridden in the gallery would be a better fit for someone who just wants to walk or gait slower in groups, but not ride alone much. A horse may also be sold if it did not do well in the dog field trial, so it’s helpful to know why? If it was too slow that might be a great horse for trail. If it did not have enough endurance that might also make a great trail horse. If it was too spooky, that might be a better horse for the arena or experienced rider. So, ask questions, so you know what you are getting into. Dog field trials are a great experience for horses. They get use to so many different things. But you have to know these horses are used to being ridden a lot and may not act the same if not getting enough work. The main complaint I hear from clients who have bought dog field trial horses without knowing what that was, is the horse is too fast or has too much endurance, they cannot wear it out for it to go slow. Horses can learn new jobs, but it takes time for them to figure out what you want, and you have to be clear, so they understand. So yes, you can retrain these horses to do many jobs and I think they make great trail horses, but they do have to get use to new things, such as hikers, bikes, single track trails and going slower. As always, time, patience and repetition are keys to retraining these horses for a new job. Working Up a Tripping Horse - Gaited Horses Part 2 - Ringbone and DSLD
By Gaye DeRusso So, what do you look for next? Well as I said start with the feet and move up. X-rays of the feet are so important because it can show many things or nothing, which helps you know what else to look for. The x-rays besides showing navicular, can show arthritis, cyst, broken bones, sidebone and ringbone. Any of these things can cause pain and tripping, but I want to talk about ringbone, which is another form of arthritis, since it is another common finding with horses having tripping issues. When a horse gets ringbone, you will sometimes see bumps in their foot area. Some vets and shoers are very good at picking this up, but you still need x-rays to prove it because I have also seen them be wrong. These bumps are from bone growing around 2 joints, the coffin and pastern joints. They call it either high or low ringbone depending which joint is by, coffin - low ringbone (foot), pastern - high ringbone (ankle area). Signs of ringbone include tripping, shorten stride, pointing the toe, heat by the foot, shifting weight, intermittent lameness to start then consistent lameness. It is more common in horses with short upright pasterns and horses that toe in. Horses that have repetitive stress to the joint such as jumping, barrel racing, and even police horses and cart horses because they are ridden on the roads repetitively. So how do gaited horses get it? Well besides the conformation, many are racked on pavement repetitively. Horses that are overweight also puts those joints at risk, so another good reason to keep their weight in check. The sooner you find ringbone, the better chance you have at keeping the horse useable and decreasing the tripping. So don't wait on those x-rays. Special shoeing, pain medications, and injections are some treatment options. The horse is tripping due to the lack of movement in the joint and the pain so treating these issues can help. The coffin bone has more movement, so low ringbone is usually a worse diagnosis than high ringbone. But with either, it will progress over time, you can only try to keep your horse comfortable and slow the process down. Now let’s talk about DSLD (Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis). This disease affects the horse’s fetlock area and is also degenerative which means it progresses over time. To keep it simple, the suspensory ligament runs down the back of the horse’s legs and then splits into 2 branches at the bottom and insert onto the horse’s foot bones. The suspensory ligament is responsible for holding up the horse’s fetlocks, so if they are not working properly the fetlocks begin to get lower. Over time they will finally give out where they will be touching the ground. DSLD was thought to just affect the fetlocks, but they have found through research that it affects many soft tissues in the body and is thought to be a connective tissue disease. At this point in time, it is believed to be a genetic disease and not from injury. The hard part is at this time as far as I know, they have not found the genetic marker, but I am sure in time they will be able to. DSLD usually appears when horses are age 15 and up but is possible in the younger horse. It is more common in Peruvian Pasos, Paso Finos, Arabians, American Saddlebreds, American Quarter Horse, Morgans and even Thoroughbreds, but can happen in any breed. When it affects the horse, it is bilateral, which means it happens in both front legs or both hindlegs, not just one leg. Signs of DSLD may include tripping (horse may not lift hoof completely off of ground due to pain), landing toe first, tight rope walking, traveling wide behind, unable to stand on one leg for shoer, stomping of feet with no flies, shifting back and forth on legs, frequently lying down to relieve the pain, back soreness, digging holes in pasture and standing in them with toes pointing down in the holes to get the pressure off the back of the leg. Sitting on fences or buckets, behavioral changes. Fetlocks may be swollen, warm and appear plum like, the horse will be tender over its suspensories, and the fetlocks will drop down in time. If it affects the back legs, when the horse is standing normally not parked out, its legs will appear more straight in the hock area. Some horses will also appear neurologic, and some will act colicky often, but no reason for colic is found. Diagnosis is through a lameness exam that should include palpation of the suspensories, fetlock, flexion exam and ultrasound. The ultrasound will usually show fiber pattern irregularity and calcifications on the ligaments. When it is severe most vets and people can see the fetlocks are dropped way down. Because gaited horses do many times come further down in their fetlocks, we have seen DSLD misdiagnosed from vets just looking at their legs. So, unless the horses fetlocks are on the ground, always ask for an ultrasound to prove it is DSLD before retiring your horse. This is a progressive and so far, incurable disease. That means it will just get worse overtime. Riding the horse will only put more weight on its fetlocks so the horse should be retired. You can try to keep the horse comfortable with pain medications, support boots and supplements. Shoeing can help support the fetlocks with a bar shoe or with more heel support, but many owners have down well with a well-balanced barefoot on the horse with the toes backed up. The reason these horses trip is due to the pain and the lack of support in their leg. Again, it is not a curable disease, so it is better to find out if the horse has DSLD and retire it. As the horse cannot help the tripping and it is unfair to expect them to carry you safely. As you watch videos of gaited horses for sale and you look at horses in rescues and kill pens, you may see them come down in their fetlocks a fair amount. But some come down much more than others. They may or may not have issues in the future. If you have concerns it is best to get a real vet check on the horse before bidding on it in auction, buying the horse or rescuing it. Many of the horses in the rescues were sent there because of this, or to the kill pens because the owners did not want to deal with putting the horse down. So be very aware, that if you do not do your homework and get one of these horses, it may not be rideable. |
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