High-Steppers

Per Boud's request some information on American Saddlebreds

This is a video of a five-gaited saddlebred. The five-gaited rack, which is that rather strange gait with the front moving very fast and the rear is not. There is no 'bounce' for the rider, sort of like a Tennessee Walker. They were bred and developed in the Southern United States and used for overseeing plantations. They are a comfortable ride. Then they became show horses and that walking trot was bred to be more exaggerated. Saddlebreds, like many breeds (not Arabians) are allowed to wear tail extensions and they do something called a tail set; a couple of cuts along the sides of the dock and then a 'set' put in to stretch and then heal upright. They wear weighted shoes and are trained with chains or weights above their front hooves to encourage more lift.

Mr. Solo at home in his natural state.

They are upright horses with their neck set high on the shoulder. This allows for more extension and lift. They are overall goodnatured horses. Generally tall, Solo was 16.1 hands.

This is an Arabian mare, Secret, I purchased and was informed she may be in foal to the seller's pinto saddlebred. She was. This is the Arabian/Saddlebred filly, Ivy. Saddlebreds are a common cross with Arabians. The Arabian Horse Registry has a half- Arab registration and so they are pedigreed and can be very valuable.

The horse in the middle is my first saddlebred, Senior Specialist, Spenser. He was 17 hands and was three when I bought him. We found out he was five-gaited later when the trainer took him out to a harvested corn field and he racked. Colleen said she thought he might be and that is a way to find out. I did not show Spenser, he was a very stable riding horse who could park really low. Parking is having the horse stretch out both front and hind to lower itself. I could get on the Big Dude from the ground if I had to because he was a world class parker. It also allowed him to refuse to move if that's what he wanted because you cannot push a parked horse off balance. Spenser was trained to drive (pull a cart), he really liked that, much more than having someone on his back. We were on a trail ride many years ago in these photos. The horse on the left is Ben, a Lipizzan/Arabian cross, on the right is Dani, a Morocco Spotted Horse/Arabian cross.

Spenser died in 2011. He had diabetes. You cannot manage it with insulin, it's all about care. He foundered badly, which is how I found out. His recovery was long and painful. He had to have grass hay that had been soaked for at least an hour to remove the starch. He needed boots with founder pads on his front hooves. He could not be out on grass, there is a lot of sugar in grass, especially in the spring. He did well for about a year and then he foundered again. I had promised him during the first recovery that I would not put him through that again. I put him down. His barn name was Spenser, but he was The Dude.

Spenser and Colleen in the early nineties.

This is Joan Crawford, an ASB owned by a member of my father's family.

This is a brief overview of the ASB horse. I hope it gave some insight into a regal and often misused animal. A little tidbit of info. TV's Mr. Ed was a half saddlebred.