Yeah, she wanted to pace, so it was a little rough, especially at the slower speed we were going. One of the other ladies was riding a 2yr old too and was training her herself. She'd only been out on the trail with her 5 or 6 times so she was going pretty slow. But later on we met up with some of my Old Farts that live in that area and we got to ride with them for a little while. The girls we were riding with had turned back because they needed to get back home earlier than we did so when we got to moving on a little faster Whirl seemed to get the hang of it a little better and smoothed on out. It could have also had something to do with the fact that we'd turned around and were heading back. I think her gait will eventually work out fine, it's just going to take some practice and a little tweaking with the shoes to get it. Here's a few pics of the ride...
Heading out...
The black horse was the 2yr old. The SSH was her mother. Part of this little horse's problem was the fact that she was WAY overweight. She had a belly like a broodmare and she's just on a little one acre lot and gets no grain whatsoever. If she keeps that up she's headed for a grazing muzzle like mine. She had one of those bitless bridles on her too and I've never been impressed with those. They seem to give you very little control, especially of their head position. But that's just my 2 cents worth on that.
Elizabeth on Hope...
Headed back...
Yeah - the filly looks chunky, particularly for a baby... And I have the same opinion about the bitless bridles.. particularly as high as she’s got it. To have any leverage at all, it should be way down low on the nose.
It’s just an interesting set of mechanics you have to know to get them gaited horses tuned up right. :~) You’ve got rattles on Hope’s hinds... What do they do for you, I’ve not seen them on just the backs before.