Is The Tennessee Walking Horses Gait Natural?

The Tennessee Walking Horse has a reputation for having a calm disposition and a naturally smooth riding gait. While the horses are famous for flashy movement, they are popular for trail and pleasure riding as well as show.

What makes Tennessee walking horses walk the way they do?

Instead of wearing regular horseshoes, the feet of Big Lick or “performance”-gaited show horses are fitted with tall, heavy stacks of pads to accentuate their gait. These “stacks” force the horses to stand at an unnatural angle, much like wearing high heel platform shoes all day, every day.

Are gaited horses natural?

Artificial Gaits Gaits such as the running walk, slow gait, pace and rack are considered artificial gaits. However, they are very natural to specific breeds of horses. There are several breeds of gaited horses, with each breed possessing distinct gaits unique to that particular kind of horse.

What are the natural gaits of a horse?

People can walk, skip, and run. But with four legs, horses can move in even more different ways, called gaits. They naturally walk, trot, canter, and gallop, depending on how fast they need to move. Every gait has a distinctive pattern, with one or more hooves leaving the ground at a time.

Is the big lick a natural gait?

The Tennessee Walking Horse has a natural gait that’s famously smooth. And, if trained in a certain way, it can perform a walk that’s even more spectacular, called the Big Lick.

Are Tennessee Walkers born gaited?

The Gaits. Tennessee Walkers are born able to perform their special gaits: The flat-footed walk, the running walk and the canter are the breed’s three natural styles.

Are Tennessee Walkers sure footed?

It is a popular riding horse due to its calm disposition, smooth gaits and sure-footedness. The Tennessee Walking Horse is often seen in the show ring, but is also popular as a pleasure and trail riding horse using both English and Western equipment.

What breed of horse has the smoothest gait?

The Paso Fino is known as “the smoothest riding horse in the world.” 2. Paso Finos’ unique gait is natural and super-smooth.

What does naturally gaited mean?

Gaited horses are characterized by their stamina and endurance, making them easy to ride for long periods of time. By never suspending themselves in the air, a gaited horse is able to conserve more energy than a horse that trots. A horse that is naturally gaited carries this quality in their genes.

Why do Paso Fino horses walk like that?

The gait of the Paso Fino horse is totally natural and normally exhibited from birth. It is an evenly-spaced four-beat lateral gait with each foot contacting the ground independently in a regular sequence at precise intervals creating a rapid, unbroken rhythm.

What is the calmest gaited horse?

Keep Calm & Ride On: Meet the 5 Calmest Horse Breeds

• American Quarter Horse.
• Morgan Horse.
• Appaloosa Horse.
• Norwegian Fjord.
• Connemara Pony.

What is the most comfortable gaited horse?

The best-gaited horse breeds include Paso Fino, American Saddlebred, the Icelandic horse, the Tennessee Walking Horse, the Racking Horse, and Missouri Foxtrotter. Gaited horse breeds are those breeds that have a natural, four-beat gait that makes riding a smooth experience.

What is the most efficient horse gait?

The trot is a very efficient gait that you can use for long-distance traveling. This two-beat diagonal footfall looks something like this: the front left leg and right hind move forward in tandem, and the right front and rear left move together.

Are Saddlebreds naturally gaited?

Saddlebred Gaits
Saddlebreds, like all breeds, have three natural gaits: Walk – a four-beat gait where each leg strikes the ground at a different moment. Trot – a quicker two-beat gait where the diagonal pairs of legs strike the ground at the same moment.

Is the Big Lick cruel?

Closer to home just 17 miles away, MTSU Horse Science Professor Dr. John Haffner says the “Big Lick” is animal cruelty. “It is a pain induced gait – if horses have not been ‘sored’ they do not learn it. The ‘Big Lick’ is a business built on the suffering and pain of horses”.

Can any breed of horse be gaited?

Although some horse breeds are naturally gaited, other horses can be trained to be gaited. Mixed-breed horses that aren’t gaited might pass down the gaiting trait in their DNA, resulting in naturally gaited offspring.

Can Tennessee Walkers gallop?

Tennessee Walkers are also known for two other gaits. They are the “flat-foot walk” which is a slow, bold, and even gait; and the “canter” which is a refined gallop with a slow and high rolling motion.

Are Tennessee Walkers easy keepers?

Tennessee Walkers tend to be easy keepers and typically do well on just fresh grass hay. These horses are typically free from disease, although Navicular disease and Laminitis are of concern. Additionally, problems with the feet are common, the result of competition or show.

Are Tennessee Walkers aggressive?

“The Tennessee Walking Horse is known for its unique running walk.” Tennessee Walking horses, aka Tennessee Walkers, are friendly, docile horses with three types of gaits.

What kind of gait does a Tennessee Walker have?

The Tennessee Walking Horse performs three distinct gaits: the flat foot walk, running walk, and canter. These three are the gaits for which the Tennessee Walking Horse is famous, with the running walk being an inherited, natural gait unique to this breed.

Are Tennessee Walkers racking horses?

The Racking Horse is a horse breed derived from the Tennessee Walking Horse, recognized by the USDA in 1971. It is known for a distinctive singlefoot gait.