Good observation, but what is not seen to the observer is that the rider is cueing the horse with his seat and voice slightly in advance, preventing the anticipation issue. Again, good comment. :)

XxBronzeWolfXx I have raised foxtrotters for almost 30 years and have had I believe every bloodline within the breed. there is much Variety in the way they gate and their athletic ability as well as their speed. the fastest foxtrotters I have seen would probably run about 25 miles per hour for a short distance. the average would be more like 18 to 20 miles per hour. I grew up on a thoroughbred and running quarter horse Farm and no gaited horse can't even begin to compare with real race horses.... At least not for Speed. the beauty of a good gaited horse is the ability to ride smoothly and cover many miles in all types of terrain giving the writer very comfortable trip. if you want a long-distance endurance horse that is fast I recommend a well-bred Arab or Arab Mustang cross. if you want a fast horse for shorter distance then the well-bred running quarter horse or Thoroughbred may do the trick. although gaited horses are not as fast at running they have their purpose :-) you might enjoy my website also watching fast gaited horses being ridden at different speeds at www.smoothestride.com

I apologize for the typos and misspelled words... Got to love auto correct on a phone

+Theresa Patton, He is not for sale, but we sell his babies and ship frozen semen for mares. :) See our website: www.SmoothestRide.com

+Sarah Belles Yes! We have two mares in foal to him for babies due early spring 2016!

+Rabbit No, I believe he was bred in Kentucky

hsb ashraf If the horse is gaiting the way I like, you can sit there relaxed even bareback without a saddle and just float along. Even with horses that are well bred it takes some practice for them to learn to gait just right and stay smooth. If you watch our stallion, HeZa Bad Cat video you'll see I have to use more pressure into the stirrups, especially when going fast but it's still very smooth. I attribute the glassy smoothness of Comet's gait to him being a cross bred out of a Standardbred SingleFooter and from a mother that was a smooth gaiting saddle type horse, like a Foxtrotter or TWH horse. The mix really can turn out nice, as Comet shows. :)

+Mary Licata We've kept him in the gene pool!

+Janice Frye Yes! He's making babies for us now!

+Sherry Hilton You would have taken some stunning pictures, I'm sure!

This is true. Although often, when teaching a foxtrotting horse to gait its smoothest, you may want to restrict the head nod at first to help horses get into correct posture, by collecting to bend at the poll, engage the rear end to prevent a heavy forehand carriage etc. then as the horse learns to glide along in perfect balance you let them have a loose rein and nod their head again, in timing with each rear hoof hitting the ground. The head nod is a good thing as it acts like a cantilever to provide smoothness to the saddle seat, when done like Zane Grey and Gold Bug in the video, but when over exaggerated like is common in the shows today, it reduces the quality of the ride by shaking the saddle seat front to back excessively. I love a good foxtrot gait, when it's smooth as glass to ride but often find horses that are more comfortable doing a running walk, Indian shuffle, stepping pace, rack or other nice quality gait. I personally take each horse I'm training and experiment with them to do all the gaits they have the ability to perform and then whichever one each individual horse does the most comfortably for the rider and with the most natural movement, which means it will be their best endurance gait, I encourage them to ride in. Some TWH horses foxtrot better than they run walk and many MFT horses run walk or rack better than they foxtrot, and the same principle goes for Rocky Mtn, Spotted Saddle Horses, and all the other gaited breeds I work with. Although a good Old Style foxtrot is my favorite gait for most riding conditions I personally ride in, I really enjoy all the wonderful gaits gaited horses can do. So I encourage horses, regardless what breed their registration papers are, to do whatever gaits they do the best. With several thousand gaited horse clients and students around the world to form my opinion from, I'd say that 99% of people just want the most comfortable gaits they can get from their horses, regardless how "correct" it is for the specific breed. There's my 2 cents worth. PS: I've seen a lot of your videos, Julie, and enjoy your quality teaching and horsemanship. Keep up the good work! :)