Gaited Horses, the Natural Way

by Lisa Ross-Williams with David Lichman

We've all seen the exciting advertisements for Natural Horsemanship. Pictures showing everyday people accomplishing amazing things while riding bridleless or having fun on the ground. But there are many in the Gaited Horse World who ask how this could pertain to them. Or perhaps hearing through the grapevine that Natural Horsemanship wasn't "gaited friendly". There are also many horseowners who really don't know much at all about these wonderful, gaited horses.

As an active student in Parelli Natural Horsemanship and admittedly, lacking knowledge when it comes to these gaited breeds, I wanted to bring some answers to many questions I often hear. Following is an interview article I conducted with David Lichman, Premier Parelli Instructor. David specializes in gaited horses and will be offering events here in the valley, Mar 8-11th, with one day dedicated to gaited breeds. He'll also be a guest on my radio show, If Your Horse Could Talk... on Feb 10th from 3-4 pm on 1190 am.

As a PNH Premier Instructor, David travels around the world teaching people to get extraordinary results with their horses. He has handled thousands of horses at hundreds of clinics, from every breed and discipline. David has a special interest in gaited breeds, especially Tennessee Walkers and Lipizzans. In 1991, he won a World Grand Championship.

Could you tell us about your own gaited horses?

I've had Tennessee Walking Horses since 1983 - from babies to mature horses and everything in between. The Artful Dodger in 1991 took me to a World Grand Championship - and when I had bought him he was almost unridable. A very difficult horse, that taught me a lot. I have also owned Arabian horses and Saddlebred horses, and I currently am riding a Lipizzan mare that I raised. I currently have a 15 year old TWH mare, named Lacy - a daughter of Prides Generator. Her son, Scotty, is 3 - he's by The Pride Piper, and I have a 4 year old son of Bud's Sterling Bullet that I fell in love with when he was 4 weeks old, in Tennessee. I bought him right then and there, and named him "13".

Could you briefly explain what the common gaits are?

Most horses do a walk, trot, canter and gallop. These horses are capable of all of those, plus some variations of an intermediate gait that has a four beat footfall, but is faster than the walk. The exception is the pace, which is like the Standardbreds do at the track; that is a two beat gait where the lateral pairs (feet on the same side) take off and land together. The four beat gaits fall somewhere between the pace and the trot, and have lots of names - some of which are: · flat walk · running walk · foxtrot · paso · saddle gait · amble · rack · tolt

Is it true that gaited horses either can't or shouldn't be allowed to trot and canter?

It's true that people say that a lot, but it's not a good training plan. If a horse is extremely trotty (he'd rather trot than gait, and it's difficult to get him to gait) then I might not encourage too much trotting, but otherwise trotting and cantering can really help to improve the gait of many of these gaited horses.

Do gaited horses need to be collected on a tight rein in order to gait correctly?

We'd say that no horse needs to be on a tight rein, but that collection with a soft feel can help refine a gait. I like to teach mine to gait on a loose rein - before asking for collection. It not only proves that requiring a tight rein is a myth, but it follows exactly the formula Pat Parelli presents, which is freestyle riding before finesse riding.

So, it's possible to gait on a casual rein. What are the important natural horsemanship keys to accomplish this?

Cause the wrong thing to be uncomfortable, and allow the right thing to be comfortable. This requires some basic tools, which are the skills we introduce in Level One and Two of Pat's program. I'll ask a horse to bend and turn, or go sideways until it feels right in gait and then relax and let him find comfort in that gait.

I understand that parts of Level 2 in Parelli Natural Horsemanship can be challenging for gaited horses because of the lateral moves. Why is this and how can horses be better prepared for these maneuvers?

I think it takes more skill and savvy to bring a gaited horse through these levels - what I suggest is to do everything you can on your gaited horse, but demonstrate the flying lead changes and trotting diagonals on a borrowed horse.

Why do some gaited horses seem to gait very naturally, while others need "training" to get it right?

This is, in my opinion, all about breeding. I believe, especially in the Walking Horse industry that we could be doing a better job of breeding the natural horse - but breeding is not an exact science, and through natural horsemanship, we have the techniques to help those that didn't get such a natural consistent gait genetically.

People have said the pace seems to be a very easy gait for horses, but normally undesired by Fox Trotter and Tennessee Walker owners. Why is this undesired and how can this be balanced with other gaits?

It's not very comfortable to ride. I teach the pacey ones to trot, and then help them find the gait in between.

Can any horse learn to gait?

According to Dr. Deb Bennet, the answer is yes. Up until the middle of the 18th century all the horses in the menage were taught to gait - but this is AFTER the high school training. Some of the trotting breeds of horses have more of a tendency to gait than others genetically - the Morgan horse would be one, and the Thoroughbred horse would be at the opposite end of the spectrum - least likely to gait.

If there was only one thing you'd want all gaited horse owners to knowWhat would that (1) thing be?

That's easy - Follow Pat's program to get you the tools you need, and then refining the gaits can be done naturally. I've done it, and seen it done all over the world.

If you have any other "gaited" questions you'd like to ask David, be sure to tune into the If Your Horse Could Talk... show, Sunday Feb. 10th on New Talk 1190 am from 3-4 pm. Call-in with those questions during the show at (602) 995-9555.

Offering these exciting events in Gilbert:

Mar 8th: Gaited Horses, Naturally Workshop

Mar 9th: Three hour levels specific sessions with PNH L2 in the morning and L3 afternoon.

Mar 10th: Three hour levels specific sessions with PNH L1 in morning and L2 in the afternoon.

Rider and auditor spots available. To register contact Donna at (480) 988-9930. More info at www.ifyourhorsecouldtalk.com

More information on Parelli Natural Horsemanship at www.parelli.com or call (800) 642-3335.

Lisa Ross-Williams is a free-lance writer, natural horse care consultant and host of the If Your Horse Could Talk... radio show. This exciting weekly show promotes natural horse care through knowledge by featuring expert guests in natural fields, and is guaranteed to educate as well as sometimes infuriate.

Tune in Sundays from 3-4 pm on New Talk 1190. To see upcoming topics or listen to a few of the shows via internet, go to www.ifyourhorsecouldtalk.com