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BREED PROFILES

American Gaited Pony

Breed Profile by Kelly Rockenhauser with Elizabeth King

You will find them grazing in the back pasture, often over looked due to their size and under-appreciated just because of what people assume to be their stereotypical temperaments, but Gaited Ponies are not necessarily few and far between.

Sometimes they are passed over simply because their owners lack the knowledge of gaited equines. All they know is that their pony has the smoothest, although funniest looking “trot” they have ever ridden.

Like their larger cousins, Gaited Ponies exhibit a smooth, intermediate saddle gait, such as a running walk, fox trot, rack or stepping pace.

While it can be harder to find a Gaited Pony than a full-sized saddle horse, more and more people are starting to take notice and seek them out. Horse owners are realizing that when it comes to teaching their children how to ride, a trotting pony can be very frustrating for both parents and children. Many a child has bounced right out of the saddle, not because the pony is misbehaving, but because of the child’s inability to properly sit or post the trot. An incident like this can quickly sour a child’s interest in riding, and there goes all that time, money, and effort down the drain.

Gaited Ponies are not just for the little ones, but also for the young at heart! Many of these ponies find homes with adults who love them just as much as any child does. People who are either learning to ride late in life or who have had horses all their lives are finding wonderful partners with Gaited Ponies. Unfortunately, as we age, our bodies are just not what they used to be. In order to continue riding, many riders find that Gaited Ponies are their best option. For anyone who is short of stature, has a hard time mounting, or whose knees give them problems, the shorter the equine, the better.

Do not let their smooth gait or small size fool you; Gaited Ponies are complete, easy-on, easy-off, smooth, little packages. They can jump and successfully compete in speed events; then turn around and give the smoothest trail ride you have ever experienced, while keeping up with their larger counterparts. Take a typical trotting pony on a trail ride with big horses, especially big gaited horses, and that trotting pony will be hard pressed to keep up without bouncing you all over your saddle. A Gaited Pony, on the other hand, can easily keep up with horses, gaited and non-gaited, without leaving you with a sore bottom.

My interest for these versatile equines began in 1999 when I wanted to start a breeding program. Tennessee Walkers have always been a favorite of mine; however, most of the horses in my area stood at least 15 hands tall, with many of them pushing into the 16 hand range. I’m 5’8," and I found a horse standing at 14 hands to be the most comfortable height for me. Looking back through my records I saw that I already had sold a few shorter gaited equines. These shorter versions were usually sold almost as soon as the sign went up, so, contrary to what many people were telling me, I knew there was a demand.

I soon discovered, however, that without a registry, finding breeding stock proved to be tricky. I acquired just about every gaited equine under the height of 14.2 hands that I could find within a five-hour drive of where I live, including two stallions. Of course breeding equines is a slow process, so even though the demand for well-broke trail ponies was there, I did not have anything to fit the bill - yet.

Through the Internet, I was able to network and find other breeders to work with and to whom I could refer interested people. Many of the breeders, like me, were in the beginning stages of their own programs. A registry would be most helpful. I discussed the idea with the other breeders and even tried, in vain, to go through a few of the established gaited horse associations and pony associations.

No one seemed interested. Finally, I surveyed people I knew who had an interest in Gaited Ponies and asked whether or not they would support a registry service for Gaited Ponies: the vote was a unanimous “yes”!

The American Gaited Pony Registry (AGPR) opened its books in February of 2004.

The goal of the AGPR is to provide a registry service for the owners and breeders of Gaited Ponies of any background. The AGPR provides an open forum for breeders, owners, and people with an interest in Gaited Ponies, to communicate with each other.

A “Gaited Pony,” as described in the AGPR, has two qualifications: first the pony must not mature above 14.2 hands; and secondly, the pony must exhibit a middle gait. What kind of gait the ponies perform depends on what the individual breeder desires.

Some people prefer a Tennessee Walker background, while others are working toward Fox Trotting ponies, Paso Fino Ponies, and numerous others. At this time, the AGPR accepts any pony that does not trot, or which performs a smooth saddle gait in addition to the trot.

All colors and coat patterns are allowed, including pinto, and appaloosa; even a cross of the two if someone wants it! As you can see, the AGPR is just as versatile as the ponies that it registers!

The menagerie of backgrounds that comes with Gaited Ponies can be broken down into two major groups. First, some ponies are the result of crossing a trotting pony and a gaited horse. These ponies keep the small size of their pony parent, and inherit the gait of the horse. When used for breeding with another Gaited Pony, these ponies can be a wildcard for size, producing either ponies or horses. Usually, if bred to a well-gaited pony, they will produce a gaited off-spring.

Secondly, Gaited Ponies can also come from the ranks of those registered with an established gaited horse registry. There are quite a few ponies registered with the AGPR that are also registered Paso Finos and only stand in the 13 hand range. There is also a particular line of registered Tennessee Walking ponies that were bred down in size over the course of some forty years. Plus, there are registered Missouri Fox Trotting ponies registered with the AGPR; the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breeders’ Association has recently started its own pony division.

The AGPR tracks the lineage, and heights of all the ponies in its registry. In a breeding program, the heights of a pony’s relatives can play a very large role in the size of its offspring. Therefore, knowing the height of a pony’s sire, dam, and grandparents is very helpful in the breeding shed.

While still small and humble, the AGPR’s membership and registration numbers double each year. There is hope that eventually it will be possible to start sanctioning shows: keg shod or barefoot. In the mean time, awards programs have been started to encourage people to get out and show the horse world what their ponies are all about.

Ponies are intelligent and curious. Laura and Romeo of Morning Star Farm, Church Hill, TN share a comfortable bond. ©Darlene Wohlart

For more information visit Gaited Pony or call (330) 227-3897.

About the Author Kelly Rockenhauser, 27, has been enamored with horses her entire life. “The first horse who taught me to ride was a big-headed Tennessee Walker gelding named Beauford (and boy did the name fit the personality!),” she says. She’s had a soft spot for smooth-gaited horses ever since. Since graduating with a Horse Program Associates Degree, she has been breeding Spotted Saddle Horses and Gaited Ponies, with the ponies becoming her main focus.