| It would be safe to say that as long as there have | | | | Out of these breeds came the Narragansett pacer. |
| been gaited horses there has been confusion as to | | | | This breed of horse went on to be the foundation of |
| what the 4-beat lateral gait is. What does the term | | | | many of today's gaited breeds. These include the |
| "gaited horse," mean? All actions of the horse are | | | | American Saddlebred, Tennessee Walker, gaited |
| called gaits. The walk, trot, lope, canter and gallop are | | | | Morgan's and other smooth gaited saddle horses, such |
| all gaits. The gaited horse has an additional gait. This | | | | as the Kentucky Mtn. Saddle Horse, Mtn. Pleasure |
| gait is a smooth, non-jarring action of the hors's leg. | | | | Horse & Rocky Mtn. Horse. Many of these breeds |
| The "lateral gait refers to the legs on one side (lateral) | | | | also descended from the Spanish Barb or Spanish |
| moving together, as opposed to the "diagonal gait" | | | | Jennet. |
| where opposite legs work together. The trot is an | | | | The Narragansett Pacer was a smaller horse and did |
| example of a diagonal gait. However, in some gaits, | | | | not last long as an America breed. Many were |
| such as the fox trot, the action is diagonal but it is still a | | | | exported to the Caribbean, Africa and Canada. They |
| 4-beat gait, making this gait smoother than the 2-beat | | | | were crossed with Thoroughbreds. The bloodlines of |
| gait. A 4-beat gait is when each foot hits the ground | | | | the pacer are evident in many of the modern breeds. |
| independently | | | | Some people believe that the Canadian Pacer and the |
| Much of this confusion occurs in trying to define the | | | | Narragansett pacer are one and the same horse. |
| gaits and in trying to judge them. The names of the | | | | It appears that the pacer was at the lateral end of the |
| gaits are used loosely and interchangeably. Different | | | | scale, in action, and had a pace/pace pair of genes. |
| breed association call the gaits by different names. It is | | | | When crossed with trotting horses, tot/trot pair of |
| difficult to describe accurately the gait, because it is | | | | genes, the gait began moving towards the diagonal |
| difficult to see what the horse is doing with each foot | | | | end of the scale. This is when the Fox Trot showed |
| as he moves along. The gait will have a variety of | | | | up. This is one reason that breeding should be a major |
| looks, depending on collection, speed, length of stride, | | | | issue in the gaited horse. We need to find the |
| skill of horse and rider, as well as the breed of horse. It | | | | combination that produces a truly comfortable gait, |
| is not the general appearance of the horse in action | | | | thus reducing some of the frustration in finding the |
| that determines the gait but the specific pattern of | | | | consistency of smoothness desired. |
| footfall, as well as the cadence that defines the gait. | | | | The Southwest corner of the USA, dating back to the |
| The classy-looking fast moving horse often | | | | late 1400's, brought in the Spanish Barb and the |
| overshadows a gentle quiet horse performing his gait | | | | Spanish Jennets. These horses, commonly called |
| well. Often the classy horse will determine the | | | | Palfreys, were considered the finest and most |
| standards of the breed, regardless of how well or how | | | | beautiful horses in the world. A commonly held belief is |
| poorly he performs the gait or the smoothness of the | | | | that they went on to produce the Paso Fino and the |
| gait. | | | | Peruvian breeds. This Spanish influence is believed to |
| This smooth moving gait has been in existence a very | | | | have also been involved in the development of the |
| long time. Archaeologists have found fossilized | | | | Mountain horse in Kentucky. Tradition has it that the |
| footprints, showing a lateral 4-beat gait. Pictures drawn | | | | foundation stock for theses horses came from the |
| on cave walls have demonstrated the horse in the | | | | Colorado and New Mexico areas. |
| same lateral gait. These fossils and pictures have been | | | | The Icelandic horse has been kept in seclusion in |
| dated to 3.5 million year ago (or so they say!). The | | | | Iceland for nearly a thousand years. This practice of |
| "evolution" of the gaited horse is not as new as many | | | | isolation has preserved the appearance of the original |
| believe. | | | | Celtic horse and is one of the oldest breeds in the |
| The American gaited horse can be traced back to the | | | | world. |
| early 1600's and found primarily in the Northeast | | | | A lot of cross breeding, inbreeding and selective |
| section of the USA. These horses were brought to | | | | breeding have brought the modern gaited horses to |
| the USA from Ireland and Scotland. They were | | | | where they are today. It is hard to trace the exact |
| originally Galloway and Hobbies. Early settlers were | | | | lines of any particular breed of gaited horse. |
| drawn to the gaited horse, as riding was the main way | | | | Regardless of the origins of the lateral gait, and the |
| of travel. The smoothness of gait and the gentleness | | | | differences among breeds, the smoothness of the |
| of the horse made them the popular horse of the day. | | | | gaited horse is highly prized and is again taking a |
| The exact action of these early gaited horses, called | | | | prominent part in American society. Most American |
| Palfreys, is unknown, as history refers to any lateral | | | | gaited horses exhibit beauty, gently disposition, a willing |
| gait merely as an "ambling" gait. | | | | mind along with a natural 4-beat gait. |