PACER !

[davidm]

I have a new ID X TB 16 3hh 10 y old who is a PACER ! does any one have any sudjestions how we can get him back into a decent trot ?
We can walk, walk fast, PACE and canter, we realy would like to get a decent trot out of him, any one else have this problem ? <font color="blue"> </font>

 

[Enfys]

Hi, Welcome to the forum.

Your horse sounds interesting, are you sure that he is actually xTB and not Standardbred? If he were Standardbred that would explain where the pacing comes from.
I have known several pacers and the only way we ever got them to trot was to take them back to basics, lots of transitions and raised trotting poles. Presumably you have already done all the normal back/teeth etc checks as the pacing may possibly just be an evasion to somesort of pain. If he's OK physically I, personally, would go for the Standardbred rather than TB assumption and either do some serious schoolwork or live with the gait. Pacing, in my opinion, is easier to sit to than a trotter.

Good Luck.

 

[henryhorn]

Years ago I got into trouble for encouraging a pacer to canter, apparently that wrecks their pacing, so perhaps try that?
In Mid Wales there were lots of horses that paced, incredible to sit to at speed, but they would revert back if ridden normally.
I would go for basic schooling and lunging in canter, that should help.

 

[calon]

i totally agree he must have standard pacer bred in him by at least half they are bred to pace ,stopping him could prove immpossible,being ableto canter is a miracle

 

[wilder]

hi it can be done (upto a certain point)i have a wonderful pacer he is cb/sb
lots of hillwork to slow his pace down in trot and do your transitions this way, does he wobble from side to side in trot then he is pacer, but i,m afraid once they get excited they usually revert back to their wobbling pace at a 100miles an hour
or best still embrace it it is fantastic to trot on these horses and the best way is to almost sit like you would doing cross country

 

[Tia]

I have some Standardbred pacers boarding at my stables and they are confirmed pacers. The first year I was open for business, I had 2 weanlings live here over the winter and they just naturally paced. Some older ones can be sort of trained out of it but often they do revert back to it as it is something bred into them. However, you say yours is a TB therefore he will have been trained to pace - this is not natural to TB's hence it should be relatively easier to train him out of pacing.

 

[davidm]

Hi, thanks for your help. He does wobble from side to side ! He is a very nervouse boy and suffers from seperation anxiety, only it the yard when we are out on our own he is fine napps and worrys alot but very honest, how do i go about jumping ? getting him into a decent approch is going to be interesting. I have only had Tom for 6 months and he is my 1st owned horse so we are having a fantastic adventure learning from the bottom !

 

[wilder]

jumping is no problem for these horses everyone i have owned has had a fantastic jump, otter was very nervous when he came to me and the 1st yr of riding was very interesting (he used to jump at everything) i think routine is especially important for these as they tend to stress alot, stick with tom alot of people can,t cope with pacers and they get passed around alot but once they trust you you have one fantastic horse
good luck

 

[davidm]

Thanks that is what i wanted to hear, he is such an honest boy.
We have to work out now if he is a standardbred rather than a tx that will make it a lot easier to work out how to procede in the future and i will have one more gait than any one else in the yard !
Thanks for your help.
David