Gaited Horse Breeds
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Tennessee Walker
History and Description
A light horse breed founded in middle Tennessee, the Tennessee Walking Horse is a composition of Narragansett and Canadian Pacer, Standardbred, Thoroughbred, Morgan, and American Saddlebred stock. Originally bred as a utility horse, this breed is an ideal mount for riders of all ages and levels of experience. The breed easily adapts to English or Western gear, and its calm, docile temperament combined with naturally smooth and easy gaits insure the popularity of the Tennessee Walking Horse as the "world's greatest show, trail, and pleasure horse."
Owning a Tennessee Walking Horse is affordable, with a price range for every person's pocketbook. A horse for pleasure is obviously more affordable than a horse trained to perform in the show ring. Considering the breed's easy ride, the companionship, its dependability, Tennessee Walking Horse owners find that the satisfaction they receive far outweighs the price of ownership.

Gaits
The Tennessee Walking Horse performs three distinct gaits: the flat foot walk, running walk, and canter. These three are the gaits for which the Tennessee Walking Horse is famous, with the running walk being an inherited, natural gait unique to this breed. Many Tennessee Walking Horses are able to perform the rack, stepping pace, fox-trot, single-foot and other variations of the famous running walk. While not desirable in the show ring, the above mentioned gaits are smooth, easy, trail riding gaits.

Conformation
Tennessee Walking Horses generally range from 14.3 to 17 hands and weigh 900 to 1200 pounds. The modern Tennessee Walking Horse possesses a definitive head with small, well placed ears. The horse has a long sloping shoulder, a long sloping hip, a fairly short back and short, strong coupling. The bottom line is longer than the top line, allowing for a long stride.

Maintaining the Purity of the Tennessee Walking Horse
We can keep improving the information that we have about our TWHs. By using blood typing, DNA, and micro-chipping the Association keeps refining the process of identification, correct parentage and reproductive expectations. By carefully thinking about your TWH’s correct base coat color and what dilutions or white coat patterns are working with that coat color you can help future generations of breeders make informed decisions when breeding their TWHs. The description of an individual horse on the Certificate of Registration should include the color, face and leg markings, patterns, and dilutions or modifiers if there are any present. Any scars, swirls, tattoos or other identifying marks should also be included. It is very important that any information that is provided be as accurate as possible. Please remember that the Registry can not guess the color of the horse being registered. The Registry will return any registration application with incomplete color info. This will cause a delay in processing. One of the basic purposes of TWHBEA is to protect and maintain the purity of the breed.

American Saddlebred
Breed History
The American Saddlebred horse can trace its roots to the natural-gaited Galloway and Hobbie horses which came to North America from the British Isles. These hardy little horses thrived and grew in the new environment, and through selective breeding the NarragansettPacer was developed along the eastern seaboard. The Narragansetts were crossed with Thoroughbreds imported to America in the early 1700s, and by the time of the Revolutionary War, a horse called simply "the American horse" was a recognized type.
These horses had the size and beauty of the Thoroughbred, but retained the ability to learn the easy-riding gaits. These animals were used for riding, to pull carriages and for other work. They were prized for a pleasant temperament, eagerness, strength and stamina.
There was continual crossing with Thoroughbreds, along with other breeds including Arabian and Morgan. Thus, when the first horse shows were held in Kentucky and Virginia in the early 1800s, American Saddlebreds, generally referred to as Kentucky Saddlers at that time, were frequently judged the winners because of their beauty, style and utility.
Today, the American Saddlebred is best known for being the ultimate show horse, high stepping and elegant, as he performs his five gaits – the walk, trot, canter, slow gait and rack. The slow gait and rack were developed from the easy-riding gait traits the Saddlebred had inherited. The footfalls of the slow gait and rack begin with the lateral front and hind feet starting almost together, but the hind foot contacts the ground slightly before its lateral forefoot. The slow gait is a highly-collected gait with each of the four feet striking the ground separately. It is executed slowly but with distinct precision, full of style and brilliant restraint. In the rack, each foot meets the ground at equal, separate intervals. It gives a smooth ride while the horse performs in a slightly uninhibited manner, with great animation, speed and correct form.

National Plantation Walking Horse
About the Breed
The Walking Horse breed was founded in the Middle Basin of Tennessee where native blue grass abounds and the soil is rich in limestone and phosphate. These conditions had much to do toward building a hardy, healthy horse with great stamina. Plantation Walking Horses are well known for their natural, comfortable gaits. They perform a flat walk, running walk and canter. The flat walk is the slowest of the three gaits of the Plantation Walking Horse. It is a bold, four-beat even gait easy on horse and rider. The horse will place the back hoof ahead of the print of the fore hoof on that same side (called an over-stride) and will nod it's head in time with the gait. The running walk is the breed's signature gait and is faster then the flat walk. Smooth and easy, this gait also combines the nod of the head with each step. This ground covering, relaxed gait has made the Plantation Walking Horse unbeatable as a trail mount. The canter is a refined gallop with a lot of spring and rhythm and has a rolling motion that has been referred to as the rocking chair gait. Graceful and easy, this gait is handily executed with a minimum of training. Plantation Walking horses are well known as class clowns of the horse world for their great personalities if they're not in your face begging for attention, they're probably making you laugh! Their kind natures make them suitable for riders of all ages and levels of experience. These fine animals with their gentle dispositions and naturally easy gaits are ideal for anyone who loves to ride for pure pleasure, whether it is in the show ring or on the trail.