Tennessee walkers as dressage horses?
Hi! I have been horse shopping for a dressage and jumping horse. I keep seeing tennessee walkers come up in my searches. So, I was wondering (idk much about gaited breeds), are all tennessee walkers born with only an ability to do thier special gait and can’t trot? Because in dressage, the horse would obviously be penalized for not trotting. So, yeah, I’m a bit confused, are they born with a disability to trot, or can you get them to trot like a normal horse?
Yeah, thats what I was thinking. Like I said, I know very little of gaited breeds as they have never interested me. I think people that are selling theirs should not list them as eventers, hunter/jumpers, and dressage horses!
Yeah, I am going to just try dressage and show jumping and see which I like better to focus on. I did western pleasure and trail for 8 years and hus for 1year, and now I want to do something a bit more exciting, but I’m not sure what!
A tennessee walker is not the breed you are looking for. They can be taught to jump, but their conformation is not suited for jumping and they don’t tend to be very good at it.
As for dressage… well you’d get laughed out of the ring if you showed up with anything gaited.
Not that they aren’t a great breed, they are very nice horses, but not what you are looking for. They are a great trail horse, parades, maybe gaming, but not an English horse by any means.
ADD– LOL, when people sell horses they tend to list them as everything. So when you search jumpers, you sometimes find a western pleasure horse who couldn’t jump to save its life because the owners just listed it in all categories to get more people to see the advertisement. Things like that.
Most Tennessee Walkers are born with the "gait" but not all. They are taught to stay in a certain "gait" to make it more "pronounced". So, i believe if you bought a younger one, you may make a great Dressage horse outta him/her. Walkers are known for their mellow, easy-going attitudes. They are great horses. Good luck!
References :
A tennessee walker is not the breed you are looking for. They can be taught to jump, but their conformation is not suited for jumping and they don’t tend to be very good at it.
As for dressage… well you’d get laughed out of the ring if you showed up with anything gaited.
Not that they aren’t a great breed, they are very nice horses, but not what you are looking for. They are a great trail horse, parades, maybe gaming, but not an English horse by any means.
ADD– LOL, when people sell horses they tend to list them as everything. So when you search jumpers, you sometimes find a western pleasure horse who couldn’t jump to save its life because the owners just listed it in all categories to get more people to see the advertisement. Things like that.
References :
I"m assuming you are beginning dressage, since you aren’t asking of a Holsteiner is better than a Thoroughbred at dressage. If you are indeed beginning, then the breed you use isn’t as important as the mind and temperament.
If you choose a Walking horse, then you will want to find one that is versatile and athletic. My son’s Walker has about five different gaits. Walk, Flatwalk, Running walk, Trot, and Canter. She does each one on command, in addition to performing the Lippizan ‘airs above ground’ when she is bored out at pasture. Needless to say, I would not mind doing dressage with her! My Walker, however, is still trying to figure out how to canter. Then again, I wouldn’t use my quarter horse mare either.
I guess the point is, if you are looking for a level 4 dressage horse, find a really good trainer who can help you pick and train such a horse. If you are starting into dressage and simply trying it out, then pick a horse you will enjoy spending a LOT of time with, because dressage training takes time. Any well trained horse, regardless of breed, can do training level dressage if they are mentally willing and not physically impaired.
Hope this advice helps! On a side note, did you know there is actually a gaited dressage movement in the U.S?
References :
Tennessee Walkers generally are not going to be great for dressage but I wouldn’t completely discount them from jumping. Like any other horse they can be trained to do anything you like. I had a TWH who could jump upwards of 3′ and he did it wonderfully.
Most have to be taught their gaits, and where to put their feet, though some don’t. You can train them out of their gaits as well. They can walk, trot, and canter just like every other horse though most purchase them for their gaits. They are absolutely wonderful horses for saddleseat, western, and trails.
References :
i absolutely love twh. they are amazing. a lady i used to ride for had a beautiful grey mare, and she taught her to walk, running walk, trot, and canter. it all depends on what u train them. u can train them not to gait, u can train them to use their gait as a transition, anything you’d like. i showed this mare in second level dressage and got the championship ribbion out of all the other riders with their expensive high bloodline horses, so its all up to you
References :