When I first bought gaited horses in 1993, I was under the common misimpression that all gaited horses are naturally gaited, and all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride.
Wrong! I have owned six gaited horses (four Icelandics and two Paso Finos), and only one of them, a young Paso Fino I broke and trained myself, ever preferred doing his gait to trotting. One of my gaited horses, an Icelandic, has absolutely no inclination whatsoever to gaiting, and despite efforts to teach him, even by those much more experienced than myself. Finally, I decided his trot is smooth enough, and I draw the line at forcing or using special shoes.
After my initial disappointment, I began to work on learning how I could coax gaits from my motley crew. I started out with two Icelandics and a Paso Fino. I've reached back into my archives and found the following notes, which I wrote to my new exercise rider:
Blakkur - I have been trying to get Blakkur to tolt for months, then someone told me that a lot of Icelandic horse trainers use a "kiss" sound-cue, rather than the traditional click. I tried it a few weeks ago and it worked like a charm! With Blakkur you need to lean back ever so slightly, elevate your reins (but don't force his head up) and give him a little heel pressure to get him started, as you make the kissing sound. Ride as though you're trying to get him to walk as fast as possible, but not allowing him to break into a trot. After all, the tolt (and any other gaited horse's gait) is just a sped-up walk. His walk is a four-beat lateral gait, and so is his tolt, only faster and with a slightly different cadence. Try it on the cement first (on the flat, with no pebbles and as little sloping as you can find -- tolt doesn't work downhill at all) so that you can listen for the four beats. If you are unsure, lean forward to get him into a trot: you will hear a definite, hard 1!-2!, 1!-2! beat as opposed to the 1-2-3-4 of the tolt. I do this on the video towards the end. (And, you'll feel the difference, since Blakkur's trot isn't the smoothest in the world!)
Starnight - If you compare Blakkur's tolt to Starnight's, you will see that Starnight has a lot of "pace" (he is a 5-gaiter, whereas Blakkur is a 4-gaiter). When Blakkur does his tolt, he lifts and puts down each leg separately, but with Starnight, you'll see his right hind and right fore moving almost in unison, then his left hind and left fore will go together. There is just enough separation between the footfalls to make it a tolt, but if I really got him going fast, he would do what is called a "flying pace." I would love to try that but I'd need a long, smooth dirt trail or a race track -- neither of which exists around here! Starnight will go into his tolt/pace very easily with just a little encouragement with seat/heels and the kissing sound. You don't even have to set his head.
Peregrino - Peregrino's fino is also a four-beat lateral gait, but the principle is entirely different. The object is for the horse to take very tiny, tight little steps with each foot hitting the ground separately in a super fast, even 1-2-3-4 beat. Peregrino will do the fino gait best when he's hyper or excited (Blakkur and Starnight will also do their gaits better if they're fresh and it's not a hot day). The lip-flapping he does is normal; I've seen lots of other Paso Finos doing that so it must be breed trait. Peregrino needs a little more encouragement to get going into fino or corto (the faster version of the "classic fino"), and as you start the kissing sound (I used to use clicking, but I'm going to use the same gait cue on all the horses from now on) raise his head as high as you can by elevating your reins and keep them firm without actually pulling back. At the same time give him strong, steady leg pressure (no kicking) and maybe even a tap with the whip. Once he goes into it, you can relax everything except the reins (even them a little, as long as his head stays up). He is the SMOOTHEST!
IMPORTANT -- during or immediately after the gaiting, reward the horse with wither scratches and "good boy" praises!
Some people told me that when training my Icelandics, it would be easier to start out at a trot, then try tolt. But since the tolt is a sped-up walk (running walk), so coming down from the trot didn't make a lot of sense because the horse has to go from a diagonal gait to a lateral one. I learned that speeding up from a walk, almost asking for a trot but not quite, was the key. Here are some of the tips I've compiled:
[] Don't sit with a forward seat. Lean back slightly to encourage horse to engage hindquarters. Don't use forward seat saddle because flaps go too far forward and discourage horse from laying back his shoulders, which he needs in gait.
[] Listen very carefully to horse's natural rhythms when riding on the trail. Learn to flow with the other gaits first... walk 1-2-3-4, trot 1-2, canter, 1-2...-3. Let your arms and legs swing gently in these rhythms. Horses want to be in rhythm. Try moving against your horse, even subtly and see how the horse reacts negatively by slowing down. Tighten yourself to slow horse down if he gets going too fast in the rhythms.
[] Work on tolt when the horse is fresh, and just incorporate it into the trail ride. Remember, the tolt is a fast walk and you let your legs and hands swing lightly in synch with horse's movement, get light feel on mouth, loosen waist, feel the rhythms and listen for 1-2-3-4 footfall; try and lighten front end of horse by sinking down with your butt and engaging his hindquarters. Gently lift the reins in rhythm, right hand up - right leg back, left hand up - left leg back. Do not force horse's head up. Begin to exaggerate motions subtly as horse speeds up, bowing your body left/right, left/right, keeping waist very loose. Take advantage of the horse's energy, even if he doesn't tolt at first. Make kissing sound in 1-2-3-4 rhythm. Feel for the sway. Create resistance by tightening your body, especially your butt, if the horse breaks into a trot but don't pull back on the reins.
[] The key is the fact that your horse wants to be in rhythm with you -- you set the 1-2-3-4 flow, and he will follow because you are the herd leader.
I hope these tips help other beginning gait riders. Original article by Staci Layne Wilson, copyright 1999 - may not be reprinted without permission from the author. Reposted here with permission.
Be kind to animals morning noon & night
for animals have feelings & furthermore they bite!
Excepted from The Horse's Choice, book by Staci Layne Wilson. Order discounted, autographed copies from
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