J&T STABLES

Why is my horse not gaiting? Look at possible physical issues before training!

Why is your horse pacing?  Well, your horse is pacing because he is not rounding his back and/or engaging his hindquarters.  But, does this this totally answer your question?   NO!  You need to know why he is not rounding or engaging.

There can be several reasons why your horse is not rounding his back or engaging his hindquarters.

1.  He may be bred to be on the pacey side. Many horses are bred to be pacey for one reason or the other.

2.  Maybe it’s his past training. He could have been trained in the wrong manner for a long time. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the rider has consciously used malicious training practices, sometimes it’s just the rider not knowing any better.

3.  It could be your position as a rider, slouched over, heavy to one side, not balanced etc.

4.  Ill fitting tack can cause your horse discomfort and cause them not to perform their best.

5.  It could even be your horses temperament. A hot, nervous type horse or a lazy horse presents their own individual training challenges.

6.  Or what you are feeding him may be a problem. Feeding your horse a high energy diet and keeping him in a stall 23 hours a day can often lead to problems. As will feeding your horse a poor diet that robs him of the energy needed to work a reasonable amount.

7.  Physical issues, which lead to pain, causing gaiting problems.

If your horse has underlying physical issues no amount of training will solve you gaiting problems.  The only thing you will succeed in by training a horse with an underlying physical issue is making your horse mad and frustrating yourself at best and you could possibly do damage to your horse physically and mentally.  Over the years I’ve seen many different problems that affect gait ranging from subtle to severe.  Below are listed some of the most common problems that I have seen.  If your horse has a gaiting issue associated with a physical problem it could be one or a combination of these problems.

Dental issues.

Being too thin or too heavy can affect your horses gait. As with humans, it is not at all healthy to be extremely overweight or underweight. Too much weight can put undue stress on your horses body, limit mobility, lead to lameness issues and being too thin can lead to a myriad of health issues. So consult a body condition chart and be honest about your horses condition and adjust their diet accordingly.

These are the most common non-training related conditions that I see coming through my barn that can affect your horses gait.  Of course, your horse may have a more serious issue (such as stomach ulcers or soft tissue danage) that is inhibiting their gait but many times those conditions show themselves at other times not just when you ask your horse to gait. Once you have ruled out or corrected a physical issue it’s time to move on and look at your training and/or your riding that may be hampering your horse from gaiting.

Jason

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