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Ode the Faithful Trail Dog In barns and fields and pastures lay The ever-present dog upon they hay Dirt and grass and trails ahead Bounds the faithful dog   Put a bell upon her collar We know she’s coming, no need to holler Danger ahead! She’ll alert the steed Protecting her horses and humans indeed   A snake taking a bake? He’ll let you know. A bear in the bush or a brand new doe? He scents a big bird? Signal the herd Ever on alert, the faithful trail dog   Tongue hanging, tummy growling She signals it’s resting time...

Rosie Rosenthal is the proud mom of Marybells. Rosie and Marybells are members of their mounted drill team, The Spirit of Long Island. Marybells is a Tennessee Walking Horse, which lends another degree of difficulty when a gaited horse is asked to move in coordination with non-gaited horses. This speaks to the versatility of gaited horses. Keep up the excellent work you two! Hopefully we'll be able to see you live in action one day :) PS--Marybell is able to move with complete freedom of movement and comfort in her Imus 4-Beat Saddle!

A half halt is (in brief), when you use your seat, legs and hands to begin to ask for a halt, but then push the horse on while keeping a firm rein, before it actually loses momentum. Firm rein does not mean 'yank and pull.' Half halts help to round the horse up into a more collected frame, and keep its hind end engaged for greater impulsion. It prepares a horse to make a transition (from walk to gait, for example), and can enable the horse to balance well under the rider before going downhill. All in all, it's a...

I just received an abused 4 yr old Fox trotter. He belonged to Mexicans who "Gouchoed?" him. I'm not sure what they did to him, but he's an emotional wreck. He then moved on to a very inexperienced trainer who tried to tame him using Clinton Anderson and John Lyons round penning techniques. Though he was not abusive to the horse, he pushed it way beyond what the horse was emotional able to handle. He taught the horse to go to the corner, where this trainer would approach, touch, and try to desensitize the horse. I believe that this further...

Q. I was browsing through your wonderful site and noticed a comment regarding Foundation Bred Appaloosa's and their "Indian Shuffle." We just bought a 2 year old and wondered if you might be able to provide more of a description of this type of gait. Also, are Appaloosas, as a breed, considered a gaited breed? Thanks for your site and time. Frank  A. A true Indian Shuffle consists of the horse moving two lateral sets of legs nearly, but not quite, in unison. The hind leg sets down an instant before the fore leg. In other words, it is a...