Should I complain and a general moan!

[Tiddlypom]

lack of experience or knowledge is no excuse for making a vet check on a sound horse that paces.

Erm, so if a horse is seen at a competition moving in a very unconventional and weird manner, you expect no official, volunteer or spectator to think that it may be unsound, and report it? That's rather naïve.

Like many folk, I've never knowingly seen a pacer under saddle. I've only seen them being driven on the race track in their special harnesses that encourage/force them to pace.

 

[tristar]

i knew someone would say that, but maybe a VET?? might have seen a pacer, for god sake!

 

[Tiddlypom]

The course vet said that the horse was sound, I believe?

 

[Lanky Loll]

Erm, so if a horse is seen at a competition moving in a very unconventional and weird manner, you expect no official, volunteer or spectator to think that it may be unsound, and report it? That's rather naïve.

Like many folk, I've never knowingly seen a pacer under saddle. I've only seen them being driven on the race track in their special harnesses that encourage/force them to pace.

GAHHHHH hopples do not force them to pace, pacers pace in the field as foals. Sorry but that sort of comment really gets my goat! They assist with balance at speed and are used in saddle races as well as in the cart.
OP fair play to you, retraining a standie is never simple but they are usually genuine souls and will try their heart out for you.
The gait is unusual and to those that haven't seen it before the horse may well seem hopping lame - as they appear nod when they pace it will sound alarm bells in those that do not know. Fair play to the vet for recognising what it is.
With regards to rhythm, arguably they are still in a two beat gait - just not a diagonal one I probably wouldn't have spoken to the judge but would also be gutted at the lack of comment . To help with keeping the trot consistent try and keep it as slow as possible - most won't "flick over" to pacing until going at a reasonable speed, unless you allow them to do the standie shuffle which they'll do at a little faster than trot

 

[dominobrown]

We are getting theee. Been doing lots of hill work recently to get him to push more from behind.
He has had a horrendous life... god knows where he has come from... we think around Blackpool and he was not raced offically but on the roads as a 2 year old and a appleby etc. He was then kept in an allotment and was in a stable/ shed 24/7 for year. And I mean not even tkaen out to be mucked out etc. I beleive some of his previous owners have been banned from keepijg horses etc. He was owned by someone who was depressed and got him as a 3 year old stallion as their first horse because he looked nice. He should be a really nasty horse bit ue still has a great attitude to people. He was only gelded when he came to me and he had never had his back feet touched. He was actually walking on the inside hoof walls like people with wrecked ugg boots do.

 

[Lanky Loll]

Poor chap sounds like he's landed on his feet. I take it you've checked for a microchip?

 

[dominobrown]

Yes... it matches his passport and he only has one recorded owner when he was a 3 year old. What a faff with the passport agency as they wanted to know who owned him in the 3 years... they where all travelling types so it was impossible to trace and the lady in the passport office was getting miffed with me as no one had any addresses and I couldnt get real names of people!

 

[Lanky Loll]

I was asking as STAGBI expect you to microchip as foals so you might have been able to get some history / background from them but obviously not in this case - tis a shame. Best of luck with him, I know of at least one Standie X that's gone round Novice BE ;-)

 

[Tiddlypom]

OP, I again congratulate you on doing a great job with your horse, after his very poor start in life.

GAHHHHH hopples do not force them to pace, pacers pace in the field as foals. Sorry but that sort of comment really gets my goat! They assist with balance at speed and are used in saddle races as well as in the cart.

Ok, but those 'hopples' (thought you'd made a typo, that's a new word to me ) look like a rather extreme training aid to the lay person. There used to be affilated dressage competitions in the land adjacent to Tir Prince Raceway in Towyn, N.Wales. I used to do rather well there because my horse stayed steady when the sulkies came out on the track to train, and other horses just removed themselves from the area!

Do you want your goat back, now .

 

[Lanky Loll]

Ta 😋 some of the best racing in the country at Tir Prince. If you can look up Saunders Jr - used to win freelegged and giving the others 50yards amazing horse

 

[Apercrumbie]

I think we also need to remember that the horse in question is hopping in and out of pacing as he is tense. That is a classic sign of lameness in a non-pacing horse and looks stilted and bizarre. Straight pacing looks very different and probably wouldn't be criticised for a lameness reason.

Point is, I don't see any point in being annoyed that someone thinks the horse is lame. From what the OP has described, it doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

 

[dominobrown]

The course phtographer pointed out when he paces and changes back. At an uaffilated I took him in (before he went BE) he took a series of photos of him changing from pacing to canter to jump out of interest. It was really useful to see.
The ability to pace is due to a gene... in my quest to dind out to re train these horses I got talking to a lady who breeds and competes icelandic ponies. She gave me a long history of the gait (obviously very passionate about it) but said there is no way you can train a horse not to do it full stop. My horse reverts back to it when unsure or tense and probably always will but obviously the less he is unsecure and tense the less he will do it, but could always do it at liberty in the field etc.
Although it looks awful its actually really easy to sit to.

 

[Vodkagirly]

Where are you? I'm up north as well Nd may be able to point you in the direction of unaffiliated events while you work on the dressage.

 

[claracanter]

I can understand how frustrating it must be to get the looks and comments but if you get out as much as you can people will know who you and your horse. They only see a snap shot whereas you know the whole of the journey you have been on. I think someone suggested a note from your vet and I agree that would be a good idea. You could keep it in your pocket and whip it out when needed.
I think it's great you are taking a non-typical horse out eventing.Keep at it.

 

[Orangehorse]

Gaited horses were historically the preferred means of transport, as they were so comfortable to ride for long distances.

Ironically it was probably the arrival of dressage and carriage horses that looked smarter with a diagonal trot that meant that most gaited horses disappeared in Europe. In Iceland where they are still ridden over long distances and in the USA and other New World Countries the gaited breeds live on.

 

[Shazzababs]

WRT speak to the judge in advance, I have a horse who is 1 tenth mechanically lame behind due to scar tissue left from when he dislocated his stifle as a youngster (we have a vet certificate).

When I used to event him (unaffiliated), I used to ask the secretary to include a note to the dressage judge with my score sheet. I didn't stop me loosing a mark per movement for our trot work (still got 7's), but it did stop them hooting at me mid test.

We quite often used to have to visit the onsite vet either before or after we went XC (especially at the local 2 day), but it normally went along the lines of 'oh its you...' lets just check he's his usual self then.

 

[MissTyc]

Fascinating thread. I have a gaited mare , and it's been a challenge!
Like the OP, I have worked very very hard to teach her not to pace. It's just like teaching a horse not to canter when you want it to trot and not to trot when you want it to walk, etc ... It's just an added gait. Instrumental for us was a very talented dressage trainer. My mare is now 7 and scored 67% in her last BE80 with some lovely comments. "Some irregularity of footfall" was the worst comment, and that was in the downward canter to walk transition - always the most difficult for us!

I have never spoken to a judge before a test. I have never been pulled out of a test although I have been pulled up for a vet check. I take it as my challenge to help my mare learn to move in a way that doesn't attract (too much) attention. Like the OP's horse, mine always paces more in the exciting phases. Legs tangle up and it turns into footfall mayhem. Again, mine is not pacing much any more but she's still quite cheerful to run a full course disunited or frequently switching any time the ground undulates. In training she doesn't do it so much since we can focus on it with a cooler mind.

Keep at it, OP. They are loving, willing horses. Just need extra training wheels!

 

[dominobrown]

You sound interesting MissTyc- haha. It is hard to teach them not to do it... its his go-to if he is unsure about something. Again at home he can canter fairly well. What exercises etc have you done with your horse? I am always interested in what other people do. Its especially hard around here as most people/ instructors etc have never come across one nevermind retrained.

 

[MissTyc]

You sound interesting MissTyc- haha. It is hard to teach them not to do it... its his go-to if he is unsure about something. Again at home he can canter fairly well. What exercises etc have you done with your horse? I am always interested in what other people do. Its especially hard around here as most people/ instructors etc have never come across one nevermind retrained.

I was lucky to find a trainer who had retrained a standardbred pacer to Advanced so she already had tricks up her sleeve. For the canter, I certainly find lots of polework helps, but more generally the pacers seem to be built with a lot of forward thrust and less upwards impulsion, so getting my mare strong through her frame has been the key ingredient. I ask for a pace out hacking as it's sooo comfortable but I rarel;y ask her in the school as I don't want her to think it's a schooling thing. That helped as well ... all the standard baby horse foundational work but for years and years. Mine is now 7 going on 4.