Question:

I recently purchased a 3 year old gelding. He has about 30 rides on him. He is not set in his gaits yet. I rode him for about 2 weeks without shoes. He would foxtrot most of the time. I had him shod and now him tends to pace. He is shod in flat shoes all the way around. I am not sure of the angles but had a gaited horse person say he might be standing up to straight. Any ideas on angles or shoes. Thanks. Pam (first name only please)

Answer:

He needs to be shod to his natural angles, ie shoulder/pastern, hip/pastern. Most of the time this is a riding problem not a shoeing problem with young horses. Try riding him with a little more collection. If he is still pacey lower the angle in front a degree or two and raise the angle behind a degree or two. Let me know how this works and we can go from there.
 

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