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How softness, bend, and a stronger foundation can help a pacey horse find a smoother, more balanced gait
If your gaited horse continues to pace instead of settling into a smooth, comfortable gait, it can leave you wondering what you are missing.
You may have tried changing speed, adjusting your hands, using different tack, or encouraging your horse to move forward. Yet the moment you ask for gait, the pace returns.
If this sounds familiar, you are not alone.
During Day 1 with Smokey, the goal was to begin improving his gait. But instead of immediately pushing him forward and asking him to gait, we started by asking a more important question:
Why is Smokey pacing in the first place?
Here’s what’s really happening.
Before we can improve a horse’s gait, we need a willing, responsive student. We need to know that the horse can soften, bend, move forward, and understand pressure and release.
For Smokey, breaking up the pace began with the foundation taught through the Horse Help Respect Series.
Understanding Pace, Trot, and Gait
Gait is the balanced place between two extremes
It helps to imagine the trot and pace on opposite ends of a spectrum, with a balanced four-beat gait in the middle.
A horse that tends to trot may carry its head lower, travel heavily on the front end, and lack enough energy or engagement from behind.
A pacey horse often presents differently.
The pacey horse may be:
- Tense through the neck and shoulders
- Sensitive or overly energetic
- High-headed
- Hollow through the back
- Stiff from the nose to the tail
During a pace, the legs on the same side of the horse move together. This can create the uncomfortable side-to-side motion many riders describe as waddling.
A smooth gait has a clear, even four-beat rhythm: one, two, three, four.
The goal is not simply to make the horse move faster. The goal is to help the horse become relaxed, balanced, and soft enough for each foot to land independently.
For a pacey horse like Smokey, that means helping him lower his head, soften through his body, round his back, and allow a hind foot to begin landing before the front foot on the same side.
Why Smokey’s Training Started on the Ground
Before improving the gait, we needed a steering wheel
When pressure was first applied to Smokey’s face, he did not simply bend his neck and look toward the handler.
Instead, his entire body moved.
When his face was asked to come toward the handler, his hindquarters moved away. He was so stiff through his neck and body that he could not separate the movement of his head from the movement of his feet.
That revealed an important hole in his foundation.
Smokey needed to learn that he could:
- Turn his head without losing control of his body
- Move forward while remaining bent
- Follow pressure instead of bracing against it
- Stay mentally connected to the person handling him
This is why the first session did not begin by chasing gait around the arena.
Before asking for a better gait, Smokey needed better communication.
In the Respect Series, this work is often described as gaining control of the head. That does not mean overpowering the horse. It means developing a reliable steering wheel through clear pressure, an understandable request, and an immediate release.
If the steering wheel is stiff while the horse is standing quietly, it will not suddenly become softer when the horse is excited, moving quickly, or reacting to something unexpected.
Building Bend and Forward Movement
Smokey needed to learn “give and go”
The first major goal was to ask Smokey to walk a small circle while bending his head and neck toward the inside.
This combines two important ideas:
Give: Soften the face and bend toward the handler.
Go: Continue moving the feet forward.
Many horses can do one or the other.
They may bend but stop moving. Or they may move forward while staying completely straight and braced.
A responsive horse needs to understand both at the same time.
This is especially important when breaking up pace in a gaited horse. A horse that stays rigid and straight is more likely to continue moving both legs on the same side together.
But when the horse bends through the circle, softens through the body, and continues moving forward, the feet begin to separate. That creates an opportunity for the hind foot to land first and begin changing the rhythm.
Put simply:
A horse cannot pace as easily when its body is softly bent.
If we cannot create that bend from the ground, it is unlikely that we will create it successfully from the saddle.
Adjusting the Method Without Changing the Goal
Be committed to the result and flexible in your approach
Smokey did not immediately understand the first way he was asked to walk the circle.
That did not mean he was stubborn.
It meant the request was not yet clear enough for him.
Instead of repeating the same cue with more force, several adjustments were made.
The halter was adjusted to create a clearer point of communication. The handler changed the position of the hand to gain more useful leverage. When Smokey still struggled, the saddle and stirrup leather were used to help create a steadier boundary.
Another adjustment involved placing weight near Smokey’s hip. This encouraged the hind leg to step forward and helped him understand that the answer was to bend while continuing around the circle.
The standard did not change.
Smokey still needed to walk forward while giving his face.
But the way the lesson was explained changed until he could understand it.
This is one of the most important lessons from Smokey’s first day:
Different horses may need the same lesson explained in different ways.
When your horse does not understand, getting stronger is not always the answer. Sometimes the best next step is to become clearer.
Why the Release Mattered
The release showed Smokey where to find comfort
One helpful adjustment involved anchoring the hand against the rider’s leg or stirrup leather.
This created a steady boundary rather than a moving tug-of-war.
When Smokey softened or moved toward the correct answer, he received an immediate release. Because the hand stayed in one place, the release happened naturally the moment he gave.
That timing helped him understand:
“When I soften and follow the pressure, the pressure goes away.”
This is different from continuously pulling harder each time the horse gives.
When the horse gives an inch and the handler immediately pulls another inch, the horse never experiences a clear release. Without that quiet moment, the horse may continue bracing because it cannot find the answer.
The goal is not to win a pulling contest.
The goal is for the horse to discover that softness creates comfort.
Once Smokey understood this, the handler could guide him with only two fingers while he continued walking the circle.
That was real progress—not because more force was used, but because the communication became clearer.
Using Interval Training to Help Smokey Relax
Work briefly, pause, and give the horse time to process
Another important part of Smokey’s Day 1 session was the use of short work intervals.
Instead of working continuously from one exercise to the next, Smokey was asked to work for a few minutes and then allowed to pause.
This gave him an opportunity to:
- Settle mentally
- Release tension
- Process what had just happened
- Return to the next request in a calmer state
A tense horse may be able to stay tense for a long time when the pressure never stops.
Short periods of focused work followed by quiet pauses can help interrupt that cycle. Each time the horse returns to the exercise, the reaction may become smaller and the answer easier to find.
The pause is not wasted time.
It is part of the training.
When you are working alone, it can be easy to move continuously from one exercise to another. Smokey’s session demonstrated the value of intentionally stopping, becoming quiet, and giving the horse a moment to think.
Progressing Through the Respect Series
Spend the time where your horse needs it
Smokey spent approximately 20 minutes working through what the Respect Series calls first grade.
That was the area where he had the largest hole. He struggled to bend, give his face, and move forward at the same time.
Once he understood that lesson, he moved through the next tests much more quickly.
This is an important reminder for horse owners who feel discouraged when one exercise takes longer than expected.
Taking longer does not mean you are failing.
It means you have found the area your horse needs help understanding.
There is no value in pushing a horse into a more advanced lesson when the earlier foundation is still unclear. A student who does not understand the earlier material will not become more confident by being rushed ahead.
The goal is not to complete as many exercises as possible.
The goal is to fill the holes that affect your horse’s safety, confidence, and performance.
Finding the Problem Before Getting in the Saddle
Groundwork shortened the conversation under saddle
The groundwork gave us valuable information about Smokey before anyone asked him to gait.
It showed that he needed:
- A softer response through his face
- A more dependable steering wheel
- Better forward movement while bending
- More relaxation through his neck and shoulders
- A clearer understanding of pressure and release
If it took 20 minutes to explain the bend from the ground, trying to teach the same lesson for the first time from the saddle could have taken much longer.
Groundwork allowed Smokey to understand the basic request before adding the rider’s weight, legs, reins, and forward momentum.
By the time the rider mounted, the goal was already clear:
Get Smokey soft, supple, and responsive before worrying about obstacles or asking for more speed.
Softening Smokey Under Saddle
Flexion came before gait work
Once mounted, the first exercise was flexion.
Smokey was still stiff. When asked to bring his face toward the rider, he wanted to move his feet rather than simply soften his neck.
Instead of punishing the movement, the request remained consistent.
A clear point was established. The rider continued asking until Smokey softened past that point. The moment he did, the pressure was released.
Smokey was allowed to move while searching for the answer. But moving his feet did not make the request disappear.
Very quickly, he began to understand that moving was not necessary. He could find the same release more easily by softening his face.
This mattered for more than gait.
A horse’s lateral flexion is part of the rider’s steering and emergency control. The horse should understand the request in a quiet environment before the rider expects the same response during speed, fear, or excitement.
For Smokey, the path toward a smoother gait began with this dependable response.
What Day 1 Taught Us About Breaking Up Pace
Pace is often a symptom of a larger foundation problem
Smokey’s first session was not about forcing him into a finished gait.
It was about creating the conditions that would allow a better gait to develop.
The key lessons were:
1. A pacey horse often needs more relaxation
Tension through the neck, shoulders, and back can keep the horse rigid and hollow. Helping the horse soften and lower its head can encourage a calmer, rounder way of moving.
2. Bend helps separate the feet
A straight, stiff horse can continue pacing like a train traveling on a track. Bending the horse through a circle encourages the body and feet to move more independently.
3. Forward movement must remain available
The horse cannot simply bend and stop. The goal is to maintain movement while the face and body soften.
4. Groundwork reveals the missing pieces
Backing, flexion, circles, attention, and pressure-and-release exercises help identify what the horse understands before those same skills are needed under saddle.
5. Clear releases build understanding
The horse needs to know exactly when the correct answer has been given. A timely release helps the horse become softer and more willing without creating a fight.
6. The horse determines the pace of the lesson
Some exercises may take seconds. Others may take most of the session. Progress comes from working on the area the horse actually needs—not the exercise the rider hoped to reach that day.
How to Apply These Lessons With Your Gaited Horse
Start by checking the foundation
Before repeatedly asking your horse to gait, consider these questions:
- Does your horse back willingly with light pressure?
- Can your horse soften its face to both sides?
- Can your horse bend without moving its entire body away?
- Can your horse walk forward while maintaining that bend?
- Can you release the pressure immediately when your horse gives?
- Can your horse stay mentally connected during the exercise?
- Are you allowing short pauses for your horse to process?
These questions can help you determine whether the pace is the main problem or whether it is revealing stiffness, tension, or confusion elsewhere.
Work in a safe, enclosed area with secure footing. When you are unsure about your timing, equipment, or ability to maintain control, work with an experienced professional who can help you apply these exercises safely.
A Better Gait Begins With Better Communication
Smokey’s first day was about building the foundation
It would have been easy to focus entirely on Smokey’s pace.
But the pace was only what we could see on the surface.
Underneath it was stiffness, tension, limited bend, and an unclear response to pressure. By working through the Respect Series, we began addressing those underlying problems one step at a time.
Smokey started learning to:
- Give his face
- Move forward while bending
- Follow a steady boundary
- Find the release
- Relax between short periods of work
- Carry the groundwork lesson into the saddle
That is where things start to change.
Improving a gaited horse’s movement is not always about asking for more gait. Sometimes it begins by slowing down, filling the holes in the foundation, and helping the horse understand exactly what you are asking.
When the communication becomes clearer, the horse can become softer.
When the horse becomes softer, the body can become more balanced.
And when the body becomes more balanced, a smoother gait begins to feel possible.
