# Single footing--



## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

From the Wiki article Irish Pixie posted answering my question about what single footing is--



> In almost all cases, the primary feature of the ambling gaits is that 3 of the 4 feet are on the ground at any time, reflected in the colloquial term, "singlefoot." -snip- All ambling gaits are faster than a walk but usually slower than a canter. They are smoother for a rider than either a trot or a pace and most can be sustained for relatively long periods of time, making them particularly desirable for trail riding and other tasks where a rider must spend long periods of time in the saddle.


Now my curiosity is piqued. 
We had a horse his entire life (who died three years ago at the age of 29) who had something like this... DH and I always called it "Orion's funky little walk-trot." Neither of us has ever ridden a pacing horse of any sort, though, either. Quarter horses and quarter crosses and that's it. 
It wasn't a trot, because it wasn't a two-beat or choppy. But it certainly wasn't just a walk, either. It was almost as fast as his long-trot, but like I said, it _wasn't_. Because if you asked him to, he'd break out of his walk-trot thing into his trot.

I wonder if this is what he was doing...I so wish he were still alive so I could video him and see what it looks like from the ground. I simply can't remember what it looked like when I would see him do it, just what it felt like when I was on him. And it was _smooth_.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

What was his breeding? Did he carry his head higher and hollow out his back a bit when he was doing his walk-trot? Here's a link to a Youtube video that shows singlefooting. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oJmHvYxHBo[/ame]

I read a bit on the 'net about ambling gaits and Quarter Horses the theory is since QH's are a relatively new breed and there are so many different breeds/types in their pedigree that at some point early on several (many?) lines were crossed with gaited horses. It makes sense.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

I've trained Saddlebreds to rack and do a stepping pace, ridden walking horses, and trained Mo Foxtrotters (including two who were pacey but learned to foxtrot like a machine.)
A lot of the time the head postion will change a single footed gate. A lower neck carriage will allow more reach with the back legs and a higher one will allow more reach with the front legs.
There are many single footing gaits from racks through run-walks. 
And not all have more than one foot on the ground. A good rack on a Saddlebred will result in each foot being on the ground seperately but it's really hard work for them to go that fast in that gait. Looks good though.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

Where I want to- I know _nothing_ about gaited horses so bear with me, please. Can you teach any horse to gait or does it have to be a "gaited" horse? I've always thought a horse had to be born gaited in order to be able to gait and they were that gait all their life. I can see if a horse is gaited teaching it emphasize it's gait but you can actually teach them another gait? Or am I just reading your post incorrectly? 

Also, what is a rack and can you find a decent video? I saw many but they all looked different and I'd like to see what it's supposed to look like. Thank you for your help.

My closest encounter with a gaited horse was riding a 1/2 Walker on a trail ride and his running walk was amazing.


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## sidepasser (May 10, 2002)

Perhaps this site will help, there are some rather good illustrations of each gait in motion.

gaits_chart.htm

You can see how each leg moves in slow motion.

Anyway, I have ridden pacers and to me they are a really rough ride. The ones I rode were TWH that paced and to be honest, I wouldn't own one.

However, a TWH that step paces is really rather smooth as there is a slight hesitation in the gait. I have friends who ride Fox trotters and they sort of remind me of sewing machines..up/down/up down zipping right along and they are very smooth.

I have known QHs that were gaited, but generally were of old bloodlines and frankly, prior to 1940, QHs didn't have as much a record on breeding as other horse breeds and were a mixture of many breeds so I figure every once in a while "blood" tells..and the gaits were a result of that coming through. Same as getting a spotted QH every once in a while out of two parents that were registered QHs. 

My TWH that I own now only does a dog walk and a running walk..but I have seen some that can switch gears and do three to four different gaits.

Hope the chart helps some, it is pretty good.

There are a lot of single footing videos on the net, however most are done at high speed and it is hard to see the leg movement. Same with Racking horses, for some reason, many people like to see how fast these horses can go - and some can go quite fast.

I like a horse that does it's gaits well at any speed and can extend the gait and still maintain it.


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## sidepasser (May 10, 2002)

Irish Pixie said:


> Where I want to- I know _nothing_ about gaited horses so bear with me, please. Can you teach any horse to gait or does it have to be a "gaited" horse? I've always thought a horse had to be born gaited in order to be able to gait and they were that gait all their life. I can see if a horse is gaited teaching it emphasize it's gait but you can actually teach them another gait? Or am I just reading your post incorrectly?
> 
> Also, what is a rack and can you find a decent video? I saw many but they all looked different and I'd like to see what it's supposed to look like. Thank you for your help.
> 
> My closest encounter with a gaited horse was riding a 1/2 Walker on a trail ride and his running walk was amazing.


I have looked at TWHs that couldn't gait and actually trotted, didn't have a single running walk in them. I've also looked at TWH that could dog walk, do a fair running walk, canter, trot and also pace.

Not all gaited horses gait and many have to be "set" in their gaits by training or they revert to what is easiest for them which is usually a pace or step pace. 

Most (not all) TWH people want their walkers to do the dog walk and running walk and some will add the canter for a 3rd gait. I would venture to say that a non gaited walker is worth less than a non gaited horse such as a QH (I know QHs have gaits but I hope y'all see what I am trying to say) as if one is buying a TWH - it should gait. Not gaiting and being a TWH makes is pretty much unsellable unless you find just the right buyer (which is hard to do, I have seen non-gaited TWHs advertised for free or 500. or less). A good gaited TWH that can hold it's gaits is what every one wants and sometimes it is hard to come by.

I doubt seriously that it would be easy to teach a QH to perform a rack, or running walk. I will not go out on a limb and say it can't be done cause I am sure that some one may have done it, but I can sure say that it would not be easy. It isn't easy to teach some TWH to perform a proper head nodding running walk, If it ain't nodding, it ain't walking. Price is generally tied to a having a good head nod and back end at least in the flat shod world.

Hannah Pulvers trains some right nice TWH for show. Hers are flat shod, head nodding big rear end driving horses. She is well known for putting out a well trained horse that has manners, and gaits. There are many vidoes of Hannah's horses on youtube. She explains in some what she is doing as far as longing, etc. They are interesting to watch because she doesn't use a lot of "gimmicks and stuff" to achieve good results.

I look for a natural walk on a TWH, but even then that doesn't mean the horse will walk under saddle, but it helps. 

If you want a horse that gaits, I think it is far easier to buy one that is "bred" to gait. But if you want a good project, I reckon you could try to teach a non-gaited horse to gait, but I have doubts about the success of such a project. But it might keep a person occupied for a few years. Just seems like too much of a project to me.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

I haven't the foggiest clue what his breeding was and I know DH doesn't either. 
He came out of my FIL's ranch-bred mare (who had no papers) and was sired by my Grandpa-in-law's stud (who also had no papers. Was just cowy and could work all day). 

But yeah, he carried his head REALLY high when he'd do that. He carried his head high no matter what, but it went even higher when he was doing his walk-trot. I can't remember if his back would hollow out though, but then, he never really had a good collection anyway...


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

I had a grade app mare growing up that had an unusual gate that was as fast as her fastest walk and very smooth. I never knew what she was doing since I was on board.

I called it her "jig" because she would usually do it half-way into a day long ride. It seemed to be a mix between a trot and a canter from on top. The front in was moving "differently" than the back end. She would do it when she wanted to go fast(but I wanted her to go slow), so maybe the combination of her wanting to go and her trying to give to the bit without actually slowing?

I won't know as we buried her a few years ago and I was a young girl when I had her.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Depending on their confirmation/ breeding, many horses who normally trot or pace at liberty can be taught to gait. I've found that if a horse has a long, swinging walk, there's usually some gait in ther somewhere. Sometimes you can see a gait when the are transitioning to their trot or pace. 
My very first horse, a Saddlebred who was a driving horse, only trotted when I got him. But he had a long, head swinging walk. I gaited him without knowing that was what I was doing. I just encouraged the swing in his barrel and the nod and presto chango- he did a single foot of some kind. It was not long with him til he was racking at great speed. Then I lost the trot- I couldn't get him to trot at all. He thought gaiting was great fun. That lasted for about a month, which I learned is not unusual, then he became a true 5 gaited horse. 
I've seen Arabs, Morgan, Quarter horses and Appalousas who would gait. I have seen more horses in all those breeds who couldn't. I have never seen a thoroughbred who even came close to it. And a horse that doesn't have that "looseness" is not one that I think would gait. 
Pacey horses that I've had have been amoung the most rapid at their gait when they learned it. But you do have to have a good feel for a gait to get a pacey horse trained and set in his gait as they are sort of slippery- they slide from one thing to another very easily. A trotting based gait is usually either there or not and is easier to catch when they are not keeping a good gait. 
A "dead" gaited horse is one that is born gaiting and never does anything else. They are the jewels of the gaiting world. I've had a couple. I can remember a baby who gaited immediately at birth. The shoer looked a her with surprise as she nodded her way around the pasture. He always thought that they were "forced" to do that.
I have to say that I have ridden horses that paced whose gait was very comfortable. It depends on the horse- anything doing a gigantic Standardbred gait, either trot or pace, is probably not going to be very comfortable. Some pacers have very little roll to them.
As you can tell, I love teaching gaiting- and doing it.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

My old qh gelding would gait when I rode him with other gaited horses but he had to really be po'd from me holding him back out of a trot to do it. Couldn't get him to gait any other time.

His pedigree:
Adams Moore Chet Quarter Horse

I grew up riding stock type horses but at one point in our lives hubby thought he'd like a couple of gaited horses so of course we bought weanlings. Training time came around and I couldn't get them to gait but a friend of mine who is used to riding gaited horses could get on and get them to. Once she had shown them they could then I could get them in their gait so there are at least some that need something unlocked in their brain that says "Hey! this is my way of moving." I, obviously, don't have that key.LOL 

So, I don't know if any horse can be trained to gait but a person who has experience with gaited horses would be much more likely to get it out of them.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

They have found a gene, that causes horse's to gait. Will see if I can dig the article up.
I have been around non gaited and gaited horse's most of my life.

I find if they are not genetically wired to gait, then you are not going to get them to gait, such as Tolt/Single foot. 

Some gaited horses, are naturals, do not need any help getting an even gait.

Others need some training to keep their Tolt/single foot even.
Dyfra, I helped out with training, now I can get and keep her Tolt easily. She is 5 gaited.

Sjtarna is a 5 gaited fly pacer, more stiff in the body and an conformation you see in many fly pace racers.
You really do have to know how ask for Tolt, and she has a incredible power Tolt.

Am good at teaching Icelandic's that are very strong in pace... to Tolt. 
But give me one that is strong in Trot.... just can't get them to Tolt well, if at all.

Way back when I was looking for a TWH, darned if I could find one that was smooth.
They were more rough than my Fjord mare's trot! 

I have known a couple of purebred papered Quarter Horse's over the years, that truly did single foot and they were naturals at it.
There are 3 old lines, 2 of them I have posted here in the past, that were bred to single foot, by older ranchers, back when they were creating the breed. 
These gentleman, wanted something smooth to work with all day moving cattle. 
If I remember correctly, one of these Quarter breeders, had a big cattle Ranch in TX.


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

I've only two gaited horses in my life. The first was the mare I rode from the time I 'graduated' from the babysitter mare to working cow horse. She was just a ranch horse mare, no pedigree or even breed, in the late 40s there were very few purebred horses of any kind on the ranches in MT. My grandfather trained her to singlefoot ... she didn't do it naturally. He told me that he trained all of his cowhorses to singlefoot as they were so much easier to ride that way, which was a big factor in an era where you spent a lot of time horseback.

My second gaited horse was the little gelding I bought in MT to use on the ranch. He was a naturally gaited horse ... several speeds of singlefoot ... no walk or trot ... plus the gallop and super smooth. I was told when I bought him that he was part "Paso" but no clue what else.

Both of these horses were ridden like any other ranch horse, on a loose rein with no contact and did not have much knee action.

I've ridden 3 or 4 TWH since I've been here in KY and absolutely can't ride them, they will not gait consistently for me and I've been told I don't keep enough pressure on the reins for one thing ... they don't seem to gait on a loose rein and are not ridden in a snaffle, which is the only bit I have used on a horse for 20 years or more.


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## bluebird2o2 (Feb 14, 2007)

Interesting conversation.my sister had a tennessee walker cross breed that we bought cheap because we were told he did not have the gait.when she rode he did have the gait and i rode him ocaisonally he was the smoothest ride ever.second smoothest horse i ever rode was my standard bred trotting gelding.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

SFM in KY said:


> I've ridden 3 or 4 TWH since I've been here in KY and absolutely can't ride them, they will not gait consistently for me and I've been told I don't keep enough pressure on the reins for one thing ... they don't seem to gait on a loose rein and are not ridden in a snaffle, which is the only bit I have used on a horse for 20 years or more.


To teach a horse to gait who is not steady in one gait, contact with the mouth is very useful. A little touch to slow down or raise or lower the head can really effect the quality of the smoothness. But all gaited horses can be taught to maintain a gait with a loose rein. It just takes consistancy. 
Most TWH people want something different than a loose rein, so they don't teach that often. All my horses are ridden in a snaffle.
I remember one (not going to use the word I'm thinking) woman who I allowed to ride my good gaited mare. She said she couldn't stand it- she couldn't see it was smooth. I tried to explain to her that thumping the mare with her legs to get her to move on from a stand still shot that poor horse straight through her smoothest gaits and into an extended trot. But she just would not hear.
Another woman I went to watch "train" a horse I sold as a youngster did the same thing. This horse was one of those dead gaited horses but the trainer did not recognise that her gait was not the same thing as a walk and thumped her until she trotted. Then the woman wondered aloud if the horse really gaited. A lot of people have no respect for the differences in a gaited horse. They just can't feel it. Or rather I think they're too impatient to listen to either the horse or those who know gaited.


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## sidepasser (May 10, 2002)

My boy rides on a loose rein, he is a trail pleasure and country pleasure horse. I am riding him in a tender touch bit with a very loose chin strap (he used to be in a rather large shanked bit). He hates a snaffle and will chew, fling his head up and down, try to chew on the sides, try to spit it out, and do all sorts of stuff to tell me he just don't like it. I've tried o-rings, d-rings, wide snaffles, narrow, french links, I have got a lot of snaffles and he has an attitude with all of them. 

He does "ok" in the tender touch, but I don't think he particularly cares for it either. At least he isn't flinging his head and trying to get his tongue over it. I have had him checked and his teeth are fine, his palate is normal. 

He gaits very nicely and I just leave the mouth alone, a couple of squeezes on the rein, he sets his head and I leave him alone. He does a nice dog walk and running walk. I haven't cantered him so don't know if he will or not. I really don't care if he does or not, I prefer going slow as to going full out like a sewing machine. I tried a lot of walkers and many had two speeds. Stop and full out. Full out is not my style. 

I also tried many walkers that would not walk, they paced or step paced. Lots of BL walkers are taken off pads and tried to be remade into something else. Sometimes it works and many times you get a very pacey gait. I think the BL trainers like them square and sort of pacey as it makes them easier to get a big lick out of them.

I had to look a long time to find a walker that was set in his gaits. A lot will gait, but getting them to maintain the gait without reverting to pacing is hard to find. 
I don't train walkers so wanted one that I could ride without fussing with "is he gaiting or not".


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## rider (Feb 11, 2003)

just had to post about the appy gait that some one mentioned we have always called that a poulse(sp) shuffle i have a gelding that does that and it is so easy to ride and he can do it all day long all the other horses have to trot to keep up with him its too fast to trail cows but when the work is done he settles into that gait and away we go


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