1967-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1967 June Voice RS | Page 42

Many show horses have a gait that is similar to the
running walk that is referred to as a “slick pace.” This
is a gait that finds both the legs on the right and the
left moving together (as in the pace), but due to the
added weight of the front shoes there is a split second
delay in the timing and the back foot strikes the ground
first. From most angles the horse appears to be in a true
running walk, but further study will reveal that he is
not walking, but rather is doing a “slick pace” and his
head is not nodding or even shaking in rhythm to his
step. Some horses are so well-schooled in this gait that
they try to shake their heads but manage only a slight
“pecking” motion, caused by pure momentum and speed.
It has been said, especially by observers not accus­
tomed to the “big lick,” that “a horse cannot shake his
head in the running walk,” especially if it is going full
speed. It is true that the more speed a horse has in this
gait, the less head motion he will have but this does not
take away his natural tendency to nod his head on every
step if he is walking correctly. If you are a relative new­
comer to the Walking Horse World this may be helpful
to you in determining just what the horses are doing
in the show ring.
THE PHENOMENON OF THE BIG LICK
One of the biggest battles that we have to fight these
days is to convince the doubters in our ranks that the
“big lick” is not synonymous with the alleged “sore
horse.” It looks as if we made ground last year by the
sheer strength of the popularity of the 1966 World Cham­
pion. This was, without doubt, a “big lick” horse, and
yet the avid supporters of this horse and rider would
rather “fight than switch” from their belief that this horse
was completely sound.
IF HE ISN’T SHAKING HIS HEAD,
HE ISN’T WALKING!
When we were just “weanlings” in the horse business,
we found it very difficult to determine when a horse was
hitting a true walking gait. On questioning an old ex­
perienced han