Standardbred horse

[Forestfreedom]

Can a standardbred horse have a normal gait? Is their pacing trotting trained in them from a very young age? if they weren’t trained to have that pacing gait, would they just have a normal gait walk, trot, canter, gallop?

 

[Burnerbee]

I rode a standardbred in NZ which had raced and he had 'normal' paces - plus exocet missile trot if required!

 

[Forestfreedom]

Wow!, was he smooth to ride ?

 

[Follysmum]

I have a trotter x and he paces occasionally it fells really weird.
He’s usually very bouncy to ride then he paces which feels horrid

 

[Gloi]

Lateral gaits are genetic. He'll either have them or he won't but the degree to which they are shown will vary both with the genetics and the training. I had a standardbred years ago which was from a trotting line.

 

[Gloi]

I have a trotter x and he paces occasionally it fells really weird.
He’s usually very bouncy to ride then he paces which feels horrid

Have a read at this book, you will get some good training ideas.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Easy-Gaite...82&hvtargid=aud-545671390501:pla-570554812001

 

[Burnerbee]

Wow!, was he smooth to ride ?

It's a long time ago but I seem to remember he was - it was certainly a weird feeling to be going that fast while his legs weren't doing what you'd expect them to be doing at that speed!

 

[Sugarplum Furry]

I have a standardbred, I know she's never been driven, she's never paced, she has a normal gait and the most awesome diagonal trot, so powerful.

 

[ycbm]

I have a four year old from a Standardbred mother who raced at a reasonable standard. He never paces and like gala's horse, has a super trot.

.

 

[Palindrome]

Mine is a French trotter with 1/4 American standardbred. French trotters normally don't pace but mine has a slow ambling gait which is very comfy, it's a bit similar to the tölt of Icelandic horses. At speed he only trots though.

 

[Orangehorse]

The ambling gait was considered far superior to diagonal trotting when people used horses for long distance travelling as it was smooth and easy to sit and the horses could cover long distances.

Trotting is a lot "smarter" for horses pulling carriages and for dressage and "arena riding" so the amblers gradually, nearly, died out, but it is why there are many more of the gaited breeds in America because they were taken there in 17th century and kept their paces.

 

[Gloi]

The ambling gait was considered far superior to diagonal trotting when people used horses for long distance travelling as it was smooth and easy to sit and the horses could cover long distances.

Trotting is a lot "smarter" for horses pulling carriages and for dressage and "arena riding" so the amblers gradually, nearly, died out, but it is why there are many more of the gaited breeds in America because they were taken there in 17th century and kept their paces.

Some of us still consider it far superior

 

[spugs]

Mine could trot but much preferred to pace. She’s found it much easier to canter then to trot. In the end I gave up on getting her to trot, she’d pace round a 1m course quite happily when she was sound. Unfortunately she had terrible confirmation and I lost her this year due to a multitude of problems.