About the Tennesee Walking Horse

The Tennessee Walking Horse. The Glide Ride, the Cadillac of Comfort - a horse of style, speed and incredible comfort. America's Ultimate Pleasure Horse.

Until you've actually ridden a Tennessee Walking Horse it can be hard to imagine the smooth ride and speed a rider can experience upon this breed.

The Tennesee Walker -- A Gaited Horse.

The Running Walk is a 4-beat gait that is the Walkers' real claim to fame. Speed-wise the running walk is the intermediate gait - equivalent to the trot of most breeds. The big difference here is comfort. Being a four-beat gait, the running walk eliminates the bounce associated with the two-beat trot performed by most breeds. When travelling at this gait on a Walking Horse you will be covering perhaps 8-12 miles per hour in total comfort. The rider does not bounce or post - its a fast gait you can comfortably do all day long (and some of us often do).

The running walk is a gait that the Tennessee Walking Horse has been bred to do - they will do it naturally and with little apparent effort. Perhaps that accounts for the soundness and longevity associated with this breed. These horses will most often continue their useful lives well into their twenties.

The slow version of this gait is called the Flat Walk. This is also a 4-beat walk, but at a slower speed. Though slower and more relaxed looking, they are probably still moving along at 5 or 6 miles per hour. When watching a walker, you will note a distinctive head nod that the horses have while walking. All horses should nod while at the walk, but the Walkers have a more exaggerated walk and, therefore, will usually have a deeper, more pronounced head nod.

Their walking gaits are what the Tennessee Walking Horses are best known for, but many of them also have a wonderful canter. Often referred to as the Rocking Chair Canter, it can look stylish in the show ring and feels great on the trail too.

These three distinctly different gaits of the Tennessee Walking Horse. . . the flat-walk, the running walk and the rocking chair canter. . . are showing up more and more often on the horse trails of Wisconsin and also in the show rings.

Shoeing the Tennessee Walking Horse

Shoes give the horse a variation on the way it performs its gaits:

• a lite-shod pleasure horse exhibits in the show ring in a very basic lightweight keg shoe which gives a loose, more natural way to his gait
• the plantation pleasure horse exhibits in the show ring with a heavier shoe which enhances the gaits for a more animated way of going
• the performance or big lick horse is exhibited in the show ring with padded, "high heel" shoes which encourages the horse to dramatically lift with the front feet and stride deep with the back.

The Walking Horse -- A Very Versatile Breed.

You will find this breed decked out in an assortment of tack. From dressage to western, to the very traditional walker saddleseat bridle and cutback saddle. Basically any type of tack or riding style that suits you and your horse is acceptable

Walkers are one of the finest pleasure horses in the world. Their gentle willingness to please along with the comfort of their gaits make them a pleasure on the show ring or on the trail.

However, more and more often, owners are exploring other ways to enjoy the Tennessee Walking Horses. Walkers have been used for years Out West on working ranches, but now some owners are taking it a step further, and using them in Reining competition, team penning and speed events. Actually they are popular in any activity where a comfortable horse with common sense is required. . . things like field trials, hunting and mountain packing.

The Tennessee Walkers come in just about every equine color . . .white to black and even pintos. Sizes also vary; they may be anywhere from 14 hands to 17 hands tall.

The Tennessee Walking Horse breed registry has existed for nearly 65 years and is one of the fastest growing registries in the world today. You will find these horses throughout the United States and in many foreign countries as more and more people are discovering the joy and comfort of riding the Walking Horse.

To show off the many talents of the Tennessee Walking Horse, Walker shows include an obstacle trail class as well as speed and contest events. These things add a little fun to showing these horses and also demonstrate some of those attributes which make them such ideal trail mounts and wonderful backyard friends.

Still just a fledgling event for Walkers, Dressage has even come to this part of the equine world. Long thought impossible because they don't trot, Tennessee Walkers as well as other gaited breeds may soon see themselves in the dressage ring. The AHSA and other organizations are currently considering adding Tests and Standards by which to judge non-trotting breeds. Whether or not they ever make it to a Dressage show, however, more and more riders and trainers are discovering the benefits of some basic dressage work in developing our horses and their gaits.

"Ride One Today - You'll Own One Tomorrow"