While Saddlebreds have made their mark in many many disciplines of riding and driving, this post is specifically for 3 and 5 gaited show horses.
The next 2 pictures are the epitome of the American Saddlebred as a show horse.
When a show breeder sizes up their young horses they look for how they move naturally. Some Saddlebreds have a more up and down movement, sometimes referred to as sewing machine motion. They look like a square. Very upright, very animated in motion in both the front and in the hocks. Their neck is long and elegant like this 3-gaited horse.

Other Saddlebreds have a more forward movement. They have a natural propensity to amble and can easily be taught the 2 extra man-made gaits, slow-gait and rack. Essentially, these are almost the same gait, but at different speeds. A true rack is when the Saddlebred is supporting all of his weight on one single foot at a time, hence the term single-footing. If you look at this 5-gaited show horse, his body looks more like a parallelogram instead of a square. Notice that both horses in these 2 pictures are trotting .. but see how different they look.

..and here is my beloved Oliver (reg. Heaven & Earth). Oliver, although gaited is in my opinion a better 3-gaited (pleasure) show horse. He is classified as cute, bright, and while he may not be as animated as the above horses...my boy is worth his weight in GOLD!!

2 comments:
A good Saddlebred is always worth their weight in gold! Sensible, loving, and intelligent, I LOVE this breed!
Thank you for sharing this interesting article SINGLE-FOOTING HORSES.. Good Work.
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