Action & Gaited Horses

[Cypress Creek Elites]

Currently, HWO has some gaited breeds, but doesn't do anything with that.
I think in the future it might be interesting to add a separate conformation score (linked to movement, training-wise) for "action".
Horses that pass a certain threshold for that conformation would be designated as "gaited". There would be an option in certain competitions to either allow only gaited horses or only non-gaited horses (or horses with exaggerated action, as a third category). Certain competitions could be gaited horses only- or perhaps a section for the different extra gaits, to see how well each horse would perform in them.
Action could be implemented in breed evals instead of in conformation/BR, but I'd prefer it to be in conformation.
What do y'all think?

Edit:
Some players have pointed out that horses being gaited refers to a specific gene, so that would end up being genetic (probably with a corresponding BR comment).
I do think that action could still be implemented as a conformation-type score, maybe impacted by build, movement and agility??? I would love to see something replace "Strength" in Dressage because while yes, strength is important (as it is in all equine sports!) it makes the ideal Dressage builds a whole lot heavier than they should be.
I still don't think either of these should require separate training. You can't train a non-gaited horse to be gaited, and it also doesn't make practical sense with action (and some methods of training exaggerated action are abusive, so I still think they should be linked to movement).

[Gabby Woodlark]

Currently, HWO has some gaited breeds, but doesn't do anything with that.
I think in the future it might be interesting to add a separate conformation score (linked to movement, training-wise) for "action".
Horses that pass a certain threshold for that conformation would be designated as "gaited". There would be an option in certain competitions to either allow only gaited horses or only non-gaited horses (or horses with exaggerated action, as a third category). Certain competitions could be gaited horses only- or perhaps a section for the different extra gaits, to see how well each horse would perform in them.
Action could be implemented in breed evals instead of in conformation/BR, but I'd prefer it to be in conformation.
What do y'all think?

I love it!! Although maybe it might be too much for the mods... Who knows?
Great idea, though! It would be absolutely awesome if they did add that in!


-Gabbs

[Malakai10]

I feel like action might fall under the breeders report category. Or perhaps in the section that lists height and temperament, there would be a 'gaited/high action/not gaited' and then movement confo br affects how good the gait is

[BlackOak2]

I think I agree with Malakai10's suggestion.

I like the thought of adding it, but not connecting it directly to the conformation evaluation like the other stats.

I also feel (though I have no evidence to back it up) that when our advanced training release comes through, this will be covered there, like all the other dressage movements and ... so on. Something that can be trained for to increase the horse's competition ability. To an extent.

A simple co-dependent gene can account for that.
G/G = gaited
G/n = high action
n/n = not gaited

Though I'm sure that's not how it is in real life! It is a simple way to tackle it for the game.

[Mega]

something for the gaited horses would be great.

[Cypress Creek Elites]

...

I'm not *entirely* sure how the gaited thing goes genetics-wise irl, but the idea of having it be a conformation score/sliding scale appeals to me more because I'm pretty sure this is something most impacted by human interference and artificial selection- and thus in order to breed for it you would have to select for it over multiple generations (as with a lot of things in HWO).
Of course this could more easily (and probably more realistically) be implemented as part of the evaluation rather than a conformation score, and the more I think about it the more sense it makes xD (or maybe just being a pure BR comment, like Intelligence, but I mean... in this case, what is considered more desirable would depend on the discipline, so it's hard to say how that would work in terms of colored comments- would things solidly in the range of quiet movement, high action, and gaited be gold, and everything else be uncolored? Would there be more of a range? Would it lean in the direction of gaited being the gold end, making everything else "undesirable"?
However it does end up being implemented, I hope it's in a way that encourages gaited or big moving horses only under certain circumstances.

[Hazel]

From what I understand, pacing and related lateral gaits are genetic. I recall reading a study a number of years ago that pinpointed a gene in horses, that when tweaked in mice, produced a similar lateral gait. The high stepping action of gaited horses is also inbred. You can find tons of photos of saddlebred foals doing big steps!

[Cypress Creek Elites]

From what I understand, pacing and related lateral gaits are genetic. I recall reading a study a number of years ago that pinpointed a gene in horses, that when tweaked in mice, produced a similar lateral gait. The high stepping action of gaited horses is also inbred. You can find tons of photos of saddlebred foals doing big steps!

Oh that's really cool!
I do think for HWO though it makes more sense to have it be on a scale versus an allele, since it's more performance than cosmetics. So (like with everything else) we can breed it into breeds where it really shouldn't exist in the first place

[Silverine]

Hazel is correct that being gaited is genetic. There is even a test for it. UC Davis also has a page on it, though their information isn't as clear as the first link.

But unlike BlackOak said, being gaited does not mean being "high action" - it means moving the legs in lateral pairs rather than diagonal. (The high action is also genetically linked but is a separate trait that I have not researched.) A horse that has only "normal" genes will only move its legs in diagonal pairs. A horse that has a single mutant gene can move its legs laterally but will generally only have one ambling gait that it can perform along with the normal gaits. A horse with two mutant genes can usually perform at least two different lateral gaits.

For example, my gelding Jet has two mutant genes. He can walk, trot, canter, gallop, pace (both stepping and flying), rack, and dogwalk. My friend's Standardbred gelding also has two mutant genes and he can walk, canter, gallop, step-pace, and fly-pace. He probably also has a trot in there somewhere but we've never seen it. My other friend's TWH has a single mutant gene and she can walk, trot, gallop, and rack. We have not seen a pace from her.

For clarity's sake - stepping pace is a 4-beat gait with the legs moving in lateral pairs where the back foot hits just slightly before the front. The flying pace is a 2-beat gait with the legs moving in lateral pairs and is what is the most common and most successful gait for harness racers. (The pacing ones specifically as there are separate divisions for pacers and trotters.)

[BlackOak2]

...

Whoops! Me being thick again... I do know gait and pace are in the same category... -_- Just didn't light that lightbulb when I read high action.

*This is me... feeling dumb.*

Thank you, Silverine, for setting me straight again. I feel like I'd be re-correcting myself every week because of the 'short walks off of tall cliffs' I regularly do. That is, if you and some others didn't regularly keep me right.

Cypress Creek Elites, what Malakai10 was suggesting is that there is an actual gene that 'turns it on' and then the better the movement BR the better the overall action of that gait (or high action) is. Just like speed is how fast a horse can go, but even our worst horses still have an ounce of speed in them. Not all horses have gaited ability and not all horses have what could be considered high action. But maybe I'm wrong. I'm out of my depth for high action.

But I do see your point. I think what you're trying to say, is if the gait or high action would be another stat, then certain comments in the breeder's report could equate to certain gaits or actions, or additional gaits or actions.
Like:
"This horse paces great! But, sadly, doesn't have any others."
Or
"He has so many gaits I can't count them all!"
Or
"Such action should only be reserved for the gods..."

Something like that?

I don't know if it's really necessary though. It'd certainly be neat to see new BR comments, but overall the gene itself is still regulated by the overall movement of the horse, at least, in my opinion. But... maybe I'm a minority in that consideration.