The Gaiting Balance and Movement Study Guide for the Gaited and Trail Horses

The two main goals of this Study Guide is to help owners, trainers, and students identify gaiting problems and help develop solutions for long-term sound health of the horse. This User Manual follows the nature of the horse's movements at liberty and strives for the same movements with the presence of a rider mounted on his back. The gaited horse does not require any special training. When at liberty, a gaited horse's natural way of moving without a rider is poetry in motion. Gaited horses can move with as much grace and skill as can be seen in any breed of horses. Just watch a stallion, led to a mare; He can piaffe and passage beautifully. (a piaffe is where the horse trots in place, whereas a passage is a high, graceful trot that appears to be in slow motion); he can execute highly complex movements without a rider on his back. Adding a mounted rider, however, interferes with the horse's natural way of moving. It's up to us to restore his natural way of moving when mounted.