Horse gait question (Pictures added)

[Chickerdoodle13]

I've been curious about this for awhile.

Anyways, we have a six or seven year old quarter horse mutt that we bought a few years ago. He was brought in from Mexico, or the US border near mexico and bought at a ranch horse auction where he was then carted up here to NJ when we found him. He has a lot of issues and was supposed to be my horse. He's not a bad horse, but became my dad's project. He's come a long way.

One thing I noticed right after purchasing him was this funny little gait he has. I've been told it is a running walk and it looks very similar. It consists of much head swaying (Back and forth, back and forth) and has four beats like a walk, but is the same speed as a trot. I was told that ranch horses are often taught this gait because it is more comfortable than a trot all day when riding. They are right! It is much more comfortable when I am trail riding! Its very easy to get him to do the gait. He walks, I kiss, he does the running walk, and then I kiss again and he goes into a trot.

My question is...is it true that most ranch horses are taught this gait? How do they teach horses to do this? Is this something that quarter horses do, or is it possible he has something else in him? He has no papers, so he could have dog in him for all I know! I do enjoy showing off this gait on the trails though...he looks ridiculous doing it, but it is very unusual and very comfortable!

 

[heritagebirds]

What color is the horse? There are many gaited breeds... I have Appaloosas, and while mine do not seem to have the gait, there is one called the Indian Shuffle, sounds similar... Hopefully you'll get a better answer, as gaited Apps are a rare find...

 

[kinnip]

Look up some gaited breeds in google. You may find a picture that looks familiar.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

He is a sorrel horse. I will go to facebook and see if it will let me post a picture. Be right back!

 

[SpringChickens]

He has to be a gaited horse breed. For a horse to perform a running walk, they must be born with the ability to do it.

You CAN train a horse with the ability to do it more consistently, but most horses aren't born with the ability to do it. That said, I've seen a select few quarter horses who would do a running walk as well as the standard 3 gaits.

 

[LoupGarou]

Could your horse be a Missouri Foxtrotter? From what I can see, some of them are similar in conformation to the QH and they are also gaited horses. They are rare-ish, though . . .

http://www.mfthba.com/

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

These aren't the best pictures, but some of the only ones I have uploaded. I have to get some more this summer now that I have my new camera.

This is a picture from the first night after we bought him. Man was he an ugly thing! Skinny as all get out and just ratty looking.

 

[SpringChickens]

He has a sweet face! The way he's built, he could be any breed. Just say he's a gaited horse

He is! He's definitely NOT full quarter horse though, not that it matters.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

LOL, don't let that sweet face fool you! He likes to nip! We're working on that though...I just think he's been allowed to rule the roost so to speak for most of his life. He respects my dad, but since I haven't worked with him very much he doesn't know me real well. I ride him on the trails and he's fine for me, but sometimes he'll throw his head and act like a jerk. We finally found a saddle that fits him nicely (The high withers were a real pain to fit a saddle to!) and he still acts like jerk, so we are working on that too. After he calms down, he is a dream to ride on the trails.

He was supposed to be my horse but he's turning out to be a better match for my dad. I ended up buying an almost two year old mare to train for myself (I won't be training her by myself, but I will be doing some of it, or at least learning from the trainers how to!) I've been riding since I was 6 or 7 and I've owned older horses, but this is my first venture with a young horse!

 

[SpringChickens]

Good for you! I love riding young horses!! I don't think I will ever buy a horse that has been ridden before if I can help it. The ones I start myself are just so much more satisfying! And then I don't have to deal with anyone else's bad habits; just my own