From: Jackie
Hi Jessica! I really enjoy reading your newsletter and want to thank you for all your responses. I have a question about the Tennessee Walker. I have taken an interest in the walking horses due to my age and the walking horses' gaits. I understand you only need to sit to their gaits which would be good on my lower back. I don't know much about the breed and wonder if you've had any experience with them. If you have, would this type of horse be good for, say, an intermediate beginner? I ride trails & mountains and would really enjoy a comfortable horse. Also, I have been told that sometimes walkers have problems around other horses who aren't walkers. The reasoning for this is that horses learn from and mimic one another, therefore, if a walker doesn't have one of his kind around, he/she may get confused about their way of going. Have you ever heard of this train of thought? Thanks in advance for any information you may have on this subject!
Jackie
TWHs are very kind and gentle horses, well-suited to someone who wants a horse for a friend and companion as well as a great trail mount.
Whoever told you that story about the problems of mixing TWHs with other horses was wrong, but not entirely wrong. Horses may get confused about some things, but not their way of going. ;-) But there CAN be a problem when you take a TWH out on rides with other horses.
The problem is that a TWH can outwalk other horses, and if you want to ride with friends, they will almost certainly have to trot to keep up with you unless they are riding TWHs too. I'm not talking about the running walk, either -- the TWH's slowest gait, the flatfoot walk, covers a LOT of ground very quickly. This isn't as trivial as it seems; your friends may not want to spend most of their trail-time at a trot, and your horse will be very uncomfortable if you try to teach it a short, slow walk.
If you ride alone most of the time, or if you ride with someone who has another TWH, or who doesn't mind doing a lot of trotting, or who is lucky enough to have an exceptional horse that can keep up with a TWH at a flatfoot walk, I think that you would be very happy with a Tennessee Walking Horse. Just be sure that you get one from a farm where such horses are raised to be companions and trail horses -- "using" horses, not show horses. You'll want a horse that is calm, steady, and barefoot -- your farrier can shoe it normally, with ordinary shoes, if you go out on rough, rocky trails. Look for a smaller horse, also -- in the interest of the friends who ride with you, and also because very tall horses aren't the best choice for most trails. Tall horses find all of the low tree-branches -- and they are harder to climb back on if you have to get off mid-ride, especially if your back is a problem. A horse that's around 14.2-15.0hh would be ideal.
If you're interested in other gaited breeds, take a look at Missouri Foxtrotters, at Peruvian Pasos, and at one of the best-kept secrets in the horse industry: gaited Morgans. But I think you're on the right track: if your back is bad and you want the smoothest ride possible, a good TWH can be the ultimate trail horse.
Jessica
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