Gaited Horse

[Newfman]

What about the Appendix Quarterhorses? (Yes, I know they are not gaited.) I see very few of them up heah in uppah New England, but I do see hundreds of Warmbloods and quite a few Thoroughbreds. I noticed they have been breeding horses with more and more prominent withers. That leads me to believe that the new "Type" hot blood is getting bred back to the quarter horse. So is anybody noticing an increase in wither prominence in the Appendix QH breeds, and are you having to get modified trees to allow for it?

My warmblood has very prominent withers, and my Wade allows for just enough clearance. It fits well on the rest of his back. If he were to develop more muscling in his back it would provide even more clearance for the wither, but then the bars may no longer fit well.

( Not that it matters with him, since he is somewhat of a maniac, and the trainers say he should be canned.)

Anyhow, it just got me thinking about the Warmed-up quarter horse and what difference, if any, saddle makers have seen in tree design modifications.

Dennis

Edited April 29, 2012 by Newfman

[AdamTill]

ADAM,

That is an incredible indoor arena. I've always had this image in my head of an indoor using Glu-Lam trusses for a high ceiling and broad clearspan. I just never thought somebody would do it! Is that a private arena or a riding club?

Now that I have seen one, I know my vision was a good one. Not that it is actually fulfillable. Nice video too. Thanks for adding that to the topic.

Hi Dennis,

The arena is a private boarding stable in Alberta that caters mainly to dressage riders. VERY nice place to ride, I feel lucky to be able to keep my horse there.

Cheers,

Adam

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

My experience is the same as Denise and Rod. While i do not make my own trees, I send very detailed templates of the horses back and pictures of the horse to the tree maker. The results have always been good fit, and that goes for Paso Finos, Tenn Walking horses and all the others. A good fitting tree that speads the weight evenly over the largest area on the horse and allows for movement without "poking" has always been just the trick.

Bob

[Sylvia]

Ok , thanks a lot for explanations and links

From what i understood, those "gaited" horses have a "special" bone structure + 5 gaited (walk, trot, and canter, but also ambling gaits)

That's it?

Another "gait" is pacing in this case the horse move both right legs forward and then both left legs. It's unusual but a very comfortable ride.

[Newfman]

StandardBred racers have Pacers and Trotters. The off track Pacers usually have to be retrained to trot to find homes for them. The raceorse owner/trainers isn't going to bother. They just dump them. Go figure. You can cover a lot of ground, real fast on a pacer, and he isn't likely to break gate. Pretty smooth as Sylvia posts. Now there is a horse that needs to be fitted for a saddle. They have Lonnngggg backs, tend a little towards mutton withers and broader backs. Really nice horses to rescue off the track if you want a good, but inexpensive horse. You'll also have to get his feet back under him. Many track farriers seem to have forgotten anatomy.