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Specializing in Tennessee Walkers and Spotted Saddle Horses. When it comes to the woods a horse is a horse.
We can train any horse but prefer Walkers. I spent many years asking questions, taking lessons from "trainers" that could
not tell me what I really wanted to know. It amazed me that all the trainers I talk to over the years could not describe the
dynamics of a gaited horse. Ask a trainer to show you what a trot is, a canter, a walk, a rack. I am completely baffled at
the difficulty trainers have with this. Recently I stopped at a woman's house to look at her horse. She wanted to sell this
beautiful palomino and white mare that she loved. There were no Walker trainers in the area so the lady found a trainer that
trained Missouri FoxTrotters. Sorry all gaited horses are not alike. Not even all Walkers are alike. Anyway this trainer told
the lady that her head was carried to high and she wasn't gaiting properly. Just because the horse is registered Walking horse
does not mean they move the same way as a solid black horse. Most solid colored horses will do a running walk. The difference
is that they shake their head and overstride anywhere from 6 to 18 inches. This means when the front left hits the ground,
the left rear will over reach the front hoof print by 6 to 18 inches. Some solids do a rack where their head is carried higher,
they do not head shake, and the do not over stride. Once you rack you never go back! The Spotted saddle horse does a rack
but they call it a saddle gait. They carry their head higher, do not head shake, and they do not over stride. This is where
it gets difficult and I hate to confuse anyone. Go to the horse sale page. Look at Kip's gaiting video. You can tell what
the head shake is. But then go to Raider's page and his video shows him racking. Go to Magic's page, click on his gaiting
video and he does a "Walking" gait with the head shakes and over stride. Not all Walkers walk, not all Spotted Saddle horses
do a saddle gait. This poor little mare was doing what she was supposed to. The trainer put her in a tie-down to set her head.
The mare was miserable and prancy. She was getting all stressed out. When I got on her she was very tense. I did NOT use the
tie-down. I road the horse for 10 or 15 minutes and she was perfect. Awesome gait and perfect head set for her breed. When
it comes to Walkers it is imperative to have a true Walker trainer train your horse. Someone that understands every aspect
of the breed including the hoof angles. Trotting horses and gaited horses should not be trimmed the same way. The angle of
the hoof determines how high the horse lifts and how far it reaches. If you square a Walker's hoof off like a Quarter horse
then you will make them choppy. I have work with many gaited horses that were not gaiting properly and mainly due to the angles
of the hooves. You can ruin a perfectly good horse with a farrier that doesn't understand the difference. Any farrier can
do the job. If you can't find one that already cares for Walkers be careful of the farrier that says a horse is a horse. Ask
your farrier if they have a hoof gauge. If they don't then ask them to get one before they touch the horse. Then have them measure and document the angles of the horses hooves. This should actually be done when the horse is
purchased provided you purchased a horse with proper angles. Once again the safest bet here is to have a professional help
you. A horse is a long term and costly venture. You want to be happy but most important you want the horse to be happy.
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