Gaited horses can be very pleasurable to ride. If they gait well, that is. Let’s face it, gaited horses can be a lot of work, especially if they don’t gait well. If a gaited horse does not gait well, they can become more of a chore than a pleasure. So, you want to get the pleasure back in your horse’s gait? Can you be the one to do it?

I am a proponent of people training their own horses. I think for most general training, owners can and should be doing it themselves. Maybe you aren’t confident enough to break or start your horse, but you can certainly train it afterwards, right? Well, in most cases I would say, “Definitely!” Say you wanted to teach your horse to stop better or break at the pole – almost everyone is capable of doing that. Above is a picture of my horse gaiting in a collected dressage position.

Never the less, can you train your horse to gait properly? For most people, they probably should hire someone to do it. You may be a very good trainer of non-gaited horses, but when it comes to hearing and feeling how a horse should gait properly, that takes lots of experience, both in the saddle and in watching them from the ground. It is very unlikely that you can read a book, then just go and get your horse to gait, unless your horse has already been trained to gait well.

It takes a keen ear and a learned instinct, brought on by riding many different gaited horses, to be able to know what you are hearing and how it should feel when a horse is gaiting correctly. It also takes a fair amount of patience to stick with it and not get really frustrated. It can take days, weeks, or months to get a horse gaiting well. It might take lots of time an effort to finally get the horse going right, and even then, his gait must be continually maintained.

In short, unless you have a lot of experience with different gaited horses, you probably should seek expert help. Search locally for a gaited horse trainer. Even a breeder can probably help you or they may know someone who trains gaited horses. While it may seem better to save money and do it yourself, when it comes to gaiting horses, seeking a professional is probably the best choice.

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