Tennessee Walking Horse

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This beautiful horse epitomizes the ideal Tennessee Walking Horse. Stuart Vesty/Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ & Exhibitors’ Association

Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ and Exhibitors’ Association

P.O. Box 286

Lewisburg, Tennessee 37091

www.twhbea.com

The Tennessee Walking Horse has impressed the world with its gentle disposition and kindly manner, and it continues to prove itself as one of the most versatile horses in the land. Its docile temperament and smooth, easy gaits are why it has become much in demand across the United States and abroad. It is an exciting performance horse, but also a fun ride outside the show ring.

It is perfect for pleasure and trail riding, as well as a working horse. Whether it is English or western pleasure, it serves nobly as a mount for the young, the aged, and the timid, as well as the experienced rider, along pleasant paths and trails. Due to its easy gaits and even temperament, a rider can comfortably stay in the saddle many hours longer than on other breeds.

With the increased interest in trail and endurance rides across the United States, the riding value of the Tennessee Walker is steadily climbing. Highly used in the Ride-A-Thons of yesteryear (huge community trail rides back in the 1920s and 1930s), one cannot argue with its success. Consequently, the Tennessee Walking Horse’s talent as both a pleasure and trail horse is being more widely recognized, and it is seen more frequently on trail rides throughout the country. With its durability, strength, and smoothness, both horse and rider come through less fatigued.

The Tennessee Walking Horse requires no special equipment. Its saddle and bridle are no different from other saddles and bridles used on any other breed. Most often, a type of western saddle is used to enjoy the trails, but some prefer the flat, cut back English type saddle for recreation and show.

A calm, docile temperament, combined with naturally smooth and easy gaits and immense versatility, has ensured the Tennessee Walking Horse’s future in the equine world.

History

For those who think the Tennessee Walker is comparatively new on the equine scene, pages of history reflect the strong influence the animal has had in the building of America and in the daily lives of its forefathers. Mainly used as utility and riding stock and known as the Plantation-type Horse, it gained wide popularity for the ease of its gait and ability to stride faultlessly over hills and through the valleys of the rocky middle Tennessee terrain. Being used for all types of farm work, as well as family transportation and recreation, the Plantation-type horse was not trained for showing in those days. Its natural gait was most often inherited from its breeding and came to be known as the running walk.

The foundation for this light pleasure breed is no mystery. In the beginning came the Narragansett and Canadian Pacer. The War Between the States occasioned the crossbreeding of the Confederate Pacers and Union Trotters, thus the Southern Plantation Walking Horse, or Tennessee Pacer, came into being. Next came the blood of the Thoroughbred, Standardbred, Morgan, and the American Saddlebred. All bloodlines were fused into one animal in the middle Tennessee Bluegrass region. The result over countless years of this selective breeding was the world’s greatest pleasure, trail, and show horse—the Tennessee Walking Horse.

An historic stallion named Black Allen was instrumental in bringing the breed to the forefront. In 1886, a cross between a stallion called Allendorf, from the Hambletonian family of trotters, and Maggie Marshall, a Morgan mare, resulted in the colt, Black Allen. He developed into a small stallion with a gentle temperament and smooth walking gait that he passed on to his offspring. A cross between Black Allen and Tennessee Pacers helped produce today’s Tennessee Walking Horse.

Registry

In 1935, admirers and breeders of this unique breed met to form the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ Association of America (now known as the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ and Exhibitors’ Association). The organization selected 115 animals as foundation stock, which represented the tributaries that combined to produce the mainstream of the breed. Black Allen was chosen as the number one foundation sire and was given the title Allen F-1 to denote him as the first horse listed in the Tennessee Walking Horse studbook.

In the first year, 208 horses were registered; near the end of the century, the number increased to over 350,000. Now with association membership in excess of twenty thousand, the Tennessee Walking Horse has became one of the fastest growing breeds in the nation. It has firmly established itself as one of the top ten recognized horse breeds in the United States.

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Tennessee Walkers should be moderate, but proportional, in their muscle design. Daniel Johnson

The Tennessee Walking Horse studbook was closed in 1947, meaning that from 1948 onwards, to be registered as a Tennessee Walking Horse, a prospective horse’s parents must also be so registered. The Tennessee Walking Horse was officially recognized as a distinct breed of light horse by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1950.

Standards

Tennessee Walkers are a light breed, generally ranging from 14.3 to 17 hands and weighing 900 to 1,200 pounds.

Colors include all the solid colors, plus white and spotted patterns. Patterns include tobiano and overo, as well as sabino and a combination of sabino and tobiano. Sabino is white that extends up the legs in ragged patches and then onto the body from the belly area. A sabino/tobiano blend is common in Tennessee Walkers. It combines characteristics of both patterns and usually has white that crosses over the topline. Its main identifying characteristic is excessive white on the face, under the chin, and under the jaw. Blue eyes or blue spots in the eyes indicate the presence of the sabino gene.

Dilution colors include dun with a prominent dorsal stripe, shoulder stripes, and horizontal leg stripes. Silver dilutes the gene that affects only the black pigment of the mane and tail, and dilutes body color only slightly. The mane and tail are lightened to a silver or blonde shade, and the eyes can range from hazel to dark brown. Bay silver horses appear to be chestnuts with flaxen or silver manes and tails. There can also be black silver, classic champagne silver, and other colors. There is an array of diverse choices to please any horse enthusiast, and different colors should not be discriminated against.

The modern Tennessee Walking Horse possesses a pretty head that is in proportion to the rest of the animal’s body. The head and throatlatch should be refined and clean-cut, with the facial bone exhibiting a chiseled appearance. The eyes should be clear and bright, showing character and being of good size and well placed, with good width between the eyes. The face should be straight, rather than convex (Roman nosed) or concave (dish faced). The ears should be well set, medium to small in size, and they should be carried forward showing attentiveness. The muzzle should be small, with large, sensitive nostrils. The upper and lower teeth should meet when the mouth is closed. The jaw should show bone structure, but not excessive thickness.

The head should join the neck at approximately a 45-degree angle, with a distinct space between the jawbone and neck. The neck should be medium to long in length, and the head should be carried high. In the adult, the neck should be slightly arched. It should be lean and muscled and blend smoothly into the shoulders and withers. Excessive arching or a crested neck is undesirable.

The shoulder should be long and slope forward at a 45-degree angle from the withers to the point of the shoulder. The shoulder should be smooth, yet well muscled. The withers should be at least as high as the top of the rump.

The topline of the Tennessee Walking Horse should be level, or slightly sloping to the hindquarters. The back should be short to medium length, with a short, strong loin. Spring of rib and depth of heart girth is proportional. The croup should be long with good muscling and a well-set tail. It should also slope moderately from the point of the hip bone to the point of the buttock.

The underline is longer than the topline, allowing for a long stride. The hindquarters should be of moderate thickness and depth, and well muscled when viewed from the side and rear. The muscling should be evident inside and out on the rear legs.

The hock joint should be fairly wide and deep with the joint and be clean. The cannon area should be vertical from the hock to the pastern, with the latter showing a 45-degree angle with the ground. It is acceptable for a Tennessee Walker to stand under in the rear slightly, or be slightly cow-hocked or sickle-hocked.

Typically, Tennessee Walking Horses should be moderate, but proportional, in their muscle design. Masculinity in stallions is distinguished by more prominence of jaw and heavy muscling. The mares should be more refined and feminine, with adequate muscling and cleaner necks than stallions. Geldings should fit somewhere in between stallions and mares, but are generally not as massive in muscle as stallions. Refinement is also desired in geldings.

All horses should have a blending of structures and a balanced appearance, with all parts being proportionate to each other. In a model class (halter), the horse should be shown in a bridle, led into the ring, and parked (forelegs straight and hind legs extended back) for judging. Conformation and condition are paramount. Horses must stand quietly, and unruly entries are excused.

Gaits

In general, the Tennessee Walking Horse should travel in a straight, direct motion, never winging, crossing, or swinging. It performs three distinct gaits: the flat foot walk, running walk, and canter. These gaits are what the Tennessee Walker is famous for. They are natural, inherited gaits and can easily be recognized from the time a young foal starts to amble beside its mother, with rhythmic coordination of legs, head, and body movement. Many are also able to perform the rack, stepping pace, foxtrot, single-foot, and other variations of the famous running walk. While not desirable in the show ring, they are good alternatives as smooth, easy, trail riding gaits.

The flat walk is a brisk, long-reaching walk that can cover from 4 to 8 miles an hour. This is a four-cornered gait, with each of the horse’s feet hitting the ground separately at regular intervals. The horse will glide over the track left by the front foot with its hind foot: right rear over right front, left rear over left front. The action of the back foot slipping over the front track is known as overstride, which is unique to the Walking Horse breed. The hock should show only forward motion; vertical hock action is highly undesirable. The flat walk should be loose, bold, and square with plenty of shoulder motion.

The running walk is the gait for which the Walking Horse is most noted. This extra-smooth, gliding gait is basically the same as the flat walk, except for a noticeable difference in the rate of speed. The horse can travel 10 to 20 miles per hour at this gait. As the speed is increased, the horse oversteps the front track with the back by a distance of 6 to 18 inches. The more “stride” the horse has, the better “walker” it is considered to be. It is this motion that gives the rider a feeling of gliding through the air as if propelled by a powerful smooth-running machine.

The running walk is as smooth and easy for the horses as it is for the riders. Since the gait is easy for them to perform, some Walkers relax certain muscles while executing it; they may flop their ears in rhythm and some may even snap their teeth.

They nod their heads while performing the running walk and will do it in rhythm with the cadence of their feet. If the head motion of the horse is not nodding, then it is not walking. This nodding head motion along with overstride are two features that are unique to the breed and are considered when judging the running walk.

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Tennessee Walkers have an extrasmooth gliding gait that they easily perform. Daniel Johnson

The running walk should also be executed with loose ease of movement—pulling the forefeet and pushing and driving with the hind. There should be a noticeable difference in the rate of speed between the flat walk and the running walk. However, they should not be judged by speed, but rather by the true form exhibited, as proper form should never be sacrificed for excessive speed.

The third gait is the canter, which is a collected gallop. The canter is performed in much the same way as other breeds, but the Tennessee Walking Horse seems to have a more relaxed way of executing this gait. The canter is a forward movement performed in a diagonal manner to the right or to the left. On the right lead, the horse should start the gait in this order: left hind, right hind and left fore together, then right fore. The footfall for the left lead is right hind, left hind and right fore, then left fore.

When performed in a ring, the animal should lead its canter with the foreleg to the inside of the ring. The canter has an abundance of ease, with lots of spring and rhythm, and with proper rise and fall, providing a thrill to the rider. The canter lifts the front end, giving an easy rising and falling motion, much like that of a rocking chair, thus it is often referred to as the rocking-chair gait. It is a high rolling gallop, with distinct head motion performed with chin tucked, and is a smooth, collected movement.

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The correct chiseled and clean-cut headpiece is on this chestnut Tennessee Walking stallion. Darlene Wohlart/equinephotography.com

Shoeing

Performance horses of the Tennessee Walking Horse breed are commonly shown with double-and triple-nailed pads to add dimension to the hoof, provide a sounder base, and change certain angles and paths in the motion of the hoof. Pads are an integral part of the training of the performance Tennessee Walking Horse, as they serve various functions. When utilized properly, they aid greatly toward accentuating the gaits of the show horse. Pads are essentially training devices, and their effectiveness and usefulness will vary with each individual horse.

On average, shoeing is at a slightly lower angle, with more natural toe than some of the western type horses. If a horse is shod when bought, the local farrier usually checks the angles of the horse’s shoes before the horse loses a shoe or its foot grows beyond the desired length and angle. It is best to keep a record of these angles and lengths and have them handy for the farrier.

Otherwise, care of Tennessee Walking Horses is no different from other breeds of horses, and those that are used for pleasure riding require no special shoes.

Judging

The Tennessee Walking Horse is shown under both English and western tack and attire. There are divisions for both padded and flat shod horses in the show ring.

When the performance Tennessee Walking Horse is shown in English attire and tack, it is exhibited with hoof pads. It executes the basic gaits with more animation and accentuated brilliance.

The flat shod segment of the breed has grown due to the easy training of the breed and the inherited gaits. Many people are able to maintain their horse without the aid of a professional trainer.

The flat shod plantation pleasure horse should display brilliance and show presence while performing true walking gaits. Any tendency to pace, rack, or trot should be penalized. Form is more important than speed. The horse is to be well mannered and manageable on a light rein. Manners are paramount for a pleasure horse and should be given serious consideration in judging. The horse should be well balanced, both fore and rear. It must back readily on command and respond to the rider’s signals to perform all gaits without necessity of bumping or pumping of the reins. English tack and attire are mandatory for this class.

Western pleasure entries are flat shod and shall reflect the suitability of a Tennessee Walking Horse as a western working horse, exhibiting an exceptionally smooth, comfortable ride without excessive animation. A good western pleasure horse should have a balanced, flowing motion with a free and easy gait. The horse should be ridden on a loose rein and should exhibit a true, four-beat walking gait with a cadenced head nod. The head set should be natural, neither excessively nosed out nor over-flexed at the poll. The head should not be high, but the horse should exhibit the type of head carriage natural for a Tennessee Walking Horse being used as a western working horse. If a western horse does not stand quietly, it must be penalized. If a western horse has a fast, uncontrollable canter or requires pumping or bumping by the rider, it must be penalized.

Other classes Tennessee Walkers excel at are barrel racing, reining, driving, jumping, and dressage.

Credit: Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ and Exhibitors’ Association

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