National Walking Horse

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The ideal Walking Horse has a smooth, great stride, with rhythm and natural motion. Courtesy Gordon Lawler/National Walking Horse Association

National Walking Horse Association

Kentucky Horse Park

4059 Iron Works Parkway, Suite 4

Lexington, Kentucky 40511

www.nwha.com

The naturally gaited National Walking Horse is one of the very few breeds of horses that originated in the United States. It is as much a part of the American heritage as the Quarter Horse. What the Quarter Horse is to cattle ranching and western life, the Walking Horse is to southern plantations, quail hunting, and field trial competitions throughout the eastern and southern states. It carried generals in the American Civil War, plowed fields for farmers, and pulled the family buggy to church on Sundays.

Generally called a Plantation Horse back then, it was one of the Tennessee farmer’s most prized possessions. Owners enjoyed overseeing their huge plantations in comfort and style while astride their Plantation Horses. These wonderful horses glided along with a natural, ground-covering gait, providing an easy ride and at the same time looking quite beautiful. Their gaits were so smooth and straight that the owner could ride all day up and down the planted furrows, checking the crops while never disturbing the plants.

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The Walking Horse has a distinct conformation with a high neck, deep girth, and medium chest. Courtesy Gordon Lawler/National Walking Horse Association

The breed’s popularity grew, and in the 1940s it was fast becoming the mount of choice on bridle paths and trail rides across the country because of its smooth gait and wonderful disposition. A Walking Horse was even used in the movies of that time as one of the mounts of the singing cowboy star, Roy Rogers. It was one of his famous and beloved Palominos, Trigger Jr., a Walking Horse that was a star in his own right. This was truly an era of unequaled popularity for the breed that has not been seen since.

In the Show Ring

As Walking Horses became more popular, competitions in the show ring increased. The more animated the gait of a horse, the higher it placed, thus increasing its value for breeding and showing. Therefore, different methods were employed to create a more exciting movement and enhance the gait.

Soring is one of those methods. Soring of Walking Horses for performance is believed to have begun in the 1950s. Deliberate and painful soring to the legs and pasterns of horses was done, causing them to exaggerate their stride for a better “look” in the show ring. Still done today, soring employs methods that includes, but is not limited to, caustic chemicals applied to the horse’s front pasterns, foreign objects placed between the built up pads or shoes and the sole of the hoof, and intentional foundering.

Most horses carry 55 percent of their weight on their front legs, with the back legs carrying about 45 percent. If a horse’s front legs are sored, the weight carrying percentages are reversed, causing the horse to stride longer with its hind legs and carry more weight on its rear. When viewed from the rear, the sored horse’s back legs stand very wide apart, spreading its weight out as much as possible to keep its balance and attempt to stay off the painful front feet. Action devices (boots, chains, and others) were also introduced to get more action in the front legs. The more weight on a hoof or the more sore it is, the higher a horse will lift it.

From the 1950s, the accepted treatment for a bowed tendon on a horse was to blister it with a chemical agent, so the chemicals necessary to sore a Walker were readily available. It was not unusual to see a horse bleeding around the pastern areas on the front legs while in the show ring. Most of the show horses had terrible scars and calluses in that area.

The addition of elevating pads between the shoe and actual hoof was also introduced to get even more front end action. In the late 1950s and through the 1960s, pads grew 2 to 3 inches thick, and action devices could weigh as much as 40 ounces each. Today, action devices are limited to a 6-ounce chain per front foot.

The Walker’s naturally beautiful four-beat gait was almost lost during the last half century because those involved in showing the Big Lick performance horse found that to get the look they wanted in the show ring, they had to breed horses with a tendency to pace. Trainers then artificially “squared up” pacing horses with a variety of methods to create the Big Lick gait, which was valued in the show ring and is still exhibited in many show rings today. Since these horses would go on to become world champions, many were popular for breeding, which produced more pacey horses and the process continued.

The American Horse Protection Association and other humane organizations became involved and brought public attention to the issue of soring in the Walking Horse industry. In 1970, the Horse Protection Act (HPA) was passed in Congress, making it a federal offence to show any horse, regardless of breed, that had been intentionally sored to alter its gait. It states, “Although the HPA covers all horse breeds, Tennessee Walking Horses and other high-stepping breeds are the most frequent victims of soring.” Responsibility for its enforcement was given to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Though the HPA has been in existence since 1970, soring of Walking Horses has remained a problem.

For five decades, the controversial training and showing practices of the Walking Horse has attached a stigma to the breed, stunting its acceptance and growth. As the artificial gait changed the direction of the breed, the true gaits, which originally made the breed popular, were almost lost forever.

Registry

A concerned group of Walking Horse owners, breeders, and professionals were saddened by the pain show horses had to endure to produce the artificial gaits. They felt it was time for a new approach to the problems of soring and use of other caustic methods and wanted more stringent steps to be taken by the Walking Horse industry at large. Thus the National Walking Horse Association (NWHA) was founded in 1998 to ensure that horses would no longer be subjected to abusive methods for more pronounced gaits in its show ring.

Registration papers were, and still are, not required to participate, as the NWHA did not have any way to verify them. Initially, it allowed padded (commonly referred to as performance) horses to be exhibited in its affiliated shows, but these classes were not supported and were dropped. NWHA then became an all flat shod Walking Horse association.

The NWHA provides shows where no soring and no scars indicative of soring are allowed. Also no chains, pads, or built up shoes are allowed either in the show ring or on the show grounds of any NWHA affiliated show. Only horses in full compliance with the HPA can compete in its show ring. It also created a training and inspection program that strictly enforces zero tolerance for soring, scarring, and inhumane gaiting procedures at all its shows, which exceeds the USDA’s policies now in practice.

Beginning in 1998, NWHA became a Horse Industry Organization (HIO), certified by the USDA. It trains its own judges from within the association to recognize talented, naturally gaited horses whose gaits have been developed by humane practices. NWHA sets rules that are more stringent than other HIOs and strictly enforces them.

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The National Walking Horse has an attractive head with pointed ears and large eyes. Henri Williams

The first National Championship Walking Horse Show (the National) was held in 2001 with almost nine hundred entries. A more recent national show held in 2007 boasted over 1,750 entries hailing from 25 states. To date, this is the largest all flat shod Walking Horse show ever held in the nation. These numbers prove the increasing desire for shows that are fair and considerate competitions, with the wellbeing of the beloved Walking Horse in mind.

More gaited horse lovers are being drawn to the National Walking Horse as the word gets out that these horses perform, in and out of the show ring, without the need for special shoes. Even barefoot horses can be shown in the NWHA arena. NWHA member and former heavyweight boxing champion, George Foreman, has commented, “I instantly loved Walking Horses. They are beautiful. It’s the horse of a heavyweight champion; you can have a good time, look good, and not fall off!” Foreman is an avid supporter of flat shod Walking Horses.

Progress

Simply having a place to exhibit a sound horse on a level playing field and having it judged by certified judges whose specialty is humanely trained, flat shod horses, were instrumental factors to a dramatic improvement in naturally gaited Walking Horses. More trainers became involved in training only naturally gaited, flat shod horses because they now had a venue for their product.

A versatility program was established, providing classes for jumping, driving, trail obstacles, obstacle driving, barrels, poles, western riding, reining, and dressage, among others. The National Walking Horse is extremely talented and can do anything any other horse can do, including trail riding, competitive trail events, field trials, and more.

The NWHA Tracking Registry (NWHATR) began in 2004 to track the performance of horses competing in the NWHA show circuit against other humanely trained Walking Horses. Breeders wanted to know which lineages crossed the best to produce well mannered, naturally gaited horses—ones that can perform a true flat walk and running walk, rather than a pace or stepping pace. Horses qualify for the NWHATR either through the Gait and Conformation Process, or by submission of its sire and dam’s Walking Horse lineage of at least four generations. Any offspring of the initially registered horse must be DNA matched to its parents. Once in the NWHATR, the performance of the horse is tracked as it participates in competitive events or trail rides.

Standards

Horses are not required to be registered Tennessee Walking Horses to participate in NWHA events.

All horses, including Spotted Saddle Horses, Racking Horses, or Walking Ponies, are accepted into the registry if they have Walking Horse lineage or can do the walking gaits as certified by the Gait and Conformation requirement. The Gait and Conformation Appendix Registry was organized to recognize and register horses of Walking Horse breeding that are not currently, or have not been formally, registered, perhaps because of failure to maintain pedigrees or a rule change by a registry.

It is the goal of NWHA to bring recognition to horses of Walking Horse breeding by offering an opportunity for formal registration. Horses may enter the Appendix Registry on the basis of gait and conformation. To qualify, horses shall exhibit a true four-beat flat walk and running walk with no extreme abnormalities of conformation. The progeny of horses in the Appendix Registry will be eligible for registration in this registry without certification of gait and conformation if the other parent is a registered Walking Horse. All progeny must be parentage verified by DNA typing.

Size and color: There are no size or color restrictions. Horses and ponies under 14 hands are allowed.

Conformation: The composition and design of the Walking Horse should enable the horse to be a functional athlete that can perform the gaits specific to the breed. Its conformation has balance, structural correctness, adequate muscling, and breed and sex characteristics that are key components to athleticism, desired movement, and image for the breed. Added to those components is a distinct style of conformation that should include a neck that rises higher out of the shoulders than most breeds, as well as, more hip and hock angulation.

The ideal Walking Horse should possess these features: an attractive head; well-shaped and pointed ears; large, kind, clear, and alert eyes; a tapered muzzle; long and graceful neck with a refined throatlatch; long, sloping shoulders; deep heart girth; chest width that is neither too wide nor too narrow; short to medium length back with strong coupling at the loin; and sloping croup with lower-set tail. The hip is sloped and long from point of hip to hip joint, shorter from hip joint to stifle, and long from stifle to hock, with muscular development extending down toward the hocks. The rear cannon bones are short. The underline is longer than the topline.

Extremes in any conformation component are not desirable. Soundness of limbs should be of utmost importance.

Temperament: Experienced horsemen sometimes state that the Walking Horse is the most loving, accepting, and willing of all breeds. It enjoys being with people of all ages. It is always willing to learn something new and, once taught, rarely forgets. With its fantastic temperament and smooth, ground-covering gaits, the naturally gaited National Walking Horse is the perfect companion, pleasure and show horse for riders of all ages.

Qualifying Gaits

Trail walk: The trail walk is a true walk with a loose rein and no appearance of strain on the part of the horse or rider. The appearance should be that of a pleasure riding horse that is relaxed, content, and manageable.

Flat walk: The flat walk should be bold and four-cornered, with an evenly timed one-two-three-four beat. In the flat walk, the horse should break at the knees, reaching and pulling with the front legs in a movement that originates from the shoulder. The horse should have impulsion and exhibit stride and drive with the hind legs. There should be no wringing or twisting of the hocks, or any excessive hock action. The horse should demonstrate a loose way of going with plenty of motion. Overstride is important but should be in accord with the conformation and length of the back and legs. A horse with a good flat walk will naturally have a straight up-and-down head motion in time with the overall rhythm of the walk.

Within the flat walk lies the foundation for a good running walk, and it should be judged as equally important as the latter. The flat walk should be a distinctive flat walk, not a slow running walk, with each leg impacting the ground with distinction. The flat walk is more bold and purposeful in movement than the running walk. Form should never be sacrificed for speed.

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National Walking Horses can also jump. Julie Claire

Running walk: The running walk has the same beat, or evenly timed footfall (one-two-three-four), as the flat walk, but is much smoother, with greater stride, rhythm, and natural motion. The increased rear leg stride and increased reach in the shoulder create this smoother ride and propel the horse at a faster speed without changing the cadence of the leg motion. As with the flat walk, the horse will naturally have a straight up–and-down vertical head motion in time with the overall rhythm of the running walk.

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The Walking Horse has a pleasant face with a kind eye and compatible, willing attitude. Julie Claire

A correctly performed running walk is truly a gait of ease, producing a clearly and easily counted, four-beat tempo. It should be straight and loose, four-cornered, and exhibit overall balance without any trace or degree of a rack, trot, foxtrot, pace, or stepping pace. There should be no excessive winging, crossing, or ropewalking (putting one front foot directly in front of the track left by the other front foot). Horses exhibiting an exaggerated, hesitating way of going with a tendency to point with the front hooves are not in form.

The horse should reach and pull in the front with powerful shoulder movement and demonstrate obvious impulsion from behind: pushing, striding, and setting its feet firmly on the ground. When correctly engaged, the horse will naturally drop its hip. Overstride is important but should be in accord with the conformation and length of the back and legs of the horse. Speed at the running walk while maintaining correct form is a positive attribute, though form should never be sacrificed for speed.

Canter: The canter should be consistent, smooth, and straight on both leads. The horse should not be walking behind, but cantering on both ends with a rolling or rocking-chair motion, comfortably collected, neck slightly arched, head slightly tucked, and giving the appearance of ease and grace. The horse should be relaxed, performing in rhythm, with head motion in perfect harmony with leg movement. The canter is not too fast, with speed somewhat dependent upon the individual horse’s conformation and size; this shall be considered in judging. While in the canter, the horse should cover some ground, but should not rock up and down unnecessarily without covering adequate ground. A horse that is on the wrong lead or is cross-cantering will be penalized.

General: The Walking Horse should move freely in each gait and proceed in a smooth fluid, rhythmic manner. Form is not to be sacrificed for speed. At all gaits, the horse should be flexed at the poll with muzzle slightly tucked. Any tendency to rack, pace, step-pace, trot, foxtrot, or otherwise deviate from the true walking gaits is not typical of the breed. It is important to remember that gait and overstride are what sets the Walking Horse apart from other gaited breeds.

Overstride is measured by how far the rear foot steps over the track of the front foot on the same side. Other gaited type horses can barely step up to their front track, let alone overstep it. It is overstride that makes the Walking gaits so ground covering and smooth.

Credit: National Walking Horse Association

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