Chief

This is an extremely brief video of Chief, a Tennessee Walking Horse at my barn. I lunge Chief twice a week to get him out of his stall and moving(his owners rarely come to see their horses :[ ). I am posting this mainly for a friend on YT that owns a walker as well and I thought she might enjoy seeing him :) He is supposed to be gaited - but i think at this point his gaits are pretty unrefined and maybe a mix of twh gaits and regular gaits? I honestly have no idea. I have very limited knowledge with gaited horses but do the best I can with him. I've identified 3 gaits in him that I can get from him on the lunge and work him at those gaits(gaits that resemble w/t/c). This is him doing a couple laps at the "trot[footfall looks the same as a regular trot?]" (he does think about transitioning up a couple times). I did get some footage of him "cantering" but for some reason it doesn't want to load :( I have a feeling he could do more from the saddle but seeing as it's been a good 5 years or more since he's had anyone on his back, he has a serious rearing problem when cars pass(and our arena is right by the road), combined with the fact that i'm not experienced with gaited horses i'm hesitant to climb on.
He has come along loads on the lunge. When I first started working him he would start at full speed straight off and nothing in the world could calm him down. He is now much more contained and calm and (for the most part) will transition on voice commands only. He is a sweet horse that just hasn't had the attention he deserves. Enjoy!
Btw excuse the poor quality - these videos are off of my phone :)

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• twh
• tennessee
• walker
• horse

[westernpleasure99]

@USNBRAT91 thanks its going to take alot of work and time to even get him to see what im asking,

[USNBRAT91]

@westernpleasure99 awesome!!! yeah just let me know what you need some pointers on when you run in to a problem and i'll try and help! :)

[westernpleasure99]

@USNBRAT91 alright,,,,next month me and my dad are starting on the arena so it will be a lil bit before i start but i will need you help!

[USNBRAT91]

@westernpleasure99 well it really depends on your schedule, and the purpose you are lunging for. for exapmle.... if i'm not able to ride during a week i will lunge my horse prob 3 -4 times to keep him conditioned if i can. butttt i would say that 3 times a week should do it. maybe start with just a couple times a week when you first start so that you don't get stressed out and you give your horse time to learn what he's being asked.

[westernpleasure99]

@USNBRAT91 yes i have a lunge line and whip got it for christmas but i dont have a place to work him him right yet i will have it by march a arena. i think i need to wait untill i have it before i start, and thank you one more thing when i start working with him how many times a week do i need to try lungeing and how long??, i will be so askin you for help when i start!!!:)

[USNBRAT91]

@westernpleasure99 (continued) to get him moving forward around you, and then work on controlling his gaits :)

[USNBRAT91]

@westernpleasure99 well the biggest thing i can reccomend is to prevent him from thinking he can come in at you at all costs. he cannot see coming in at you as an option - that can be very dangerous. are you using a lunge whip?? if not, that's something necessary with a horse that does not want to move forward. never touch the horse with it, but when he moves to come in towards you crack it near his backside to keep himaway from you and moving forward. right now just set make your goal trying...

[westernpleasure99]

@USNBRAT91 okay thanks, its like he is lost he dont get what im trying to tell him to do, (i dont think he has been lunge before ever!!)he lazy and wouldnt move and if i get him to he turn to me and comes in. i have one time got him to go round all the way but it took forever!! my dad got him to but roller was scared and that why so we stop we didnt want him to be scared of it. but he just lost. haha best way to put it

[USNBRAT91]

@westernpleasure99 hi there!!! in my opinion there is not difference between a gaited walker and a regular horse in terms of teaching them to lunge. i do not claim to be a trainer, but I approach teaching a horse to lunge in the same way. there are great videos/books/articles on lunging out there that can be really helpful! if you can tell me specific problems he's having when you try to lunge them I certainly wouldn't mind trying to give my best advice :)

[westernpleasure99]

hey i have a twh and i cant get him to lunge to save my life!!!!. how did you get him to??