The Tennessee Walker or Tennesse Walking Horse is a breed of saddle horse native to the United States, selected for its particular gaits, especially the running walk. The breed was historically created to obtain a comfortable horse suitable for roaming the large plantations of the South. It has been managed since 1935 by the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeder's Association of America. It is now a horse intended mainly for competitions. And what competitions, these horses have very particular looks and that's why they are very popular and mistreated....
Historical:
The origins of the Tennessee Walker are linked to those of the American Saddlebred. Like him, he descends from the Narragansett Pacer, a small native horse born from the crossing of English horses of immigrants, which developed in North America from the seventeenth century, and which has the particularity of ambler. The Tennessee horse also received in its early years the influence of the English Thoroughbred, as well as that of the Pacer and the Morgan. This horse was adopted and selected by cotton planters who wanted a docile and robust horse with a convenient appearance. It was then known as the Saddle horse and was later called the Plantation Horse or Plantation Walking Horse.Crosses continued with a mixture of all breeds present at the time in the United States. There are English Thoroughbreds, Standardbred, Morgan and American Saddlebred. In 1886 Black Allan was born, a cross of Morgan and Standardbred trotter. This trotter, promised by his ancestors to a great future, refuses to trot and walks only at pace. At the age of 23, it was bought by Albert Dement who wanted to produce a breed of horses "running" the step naturally. Black Allan died in 1910, the year after it was acquired, but had previously bred nearly 111 mares. On April 27, 1935, the owners of Walking Horses regrouped and formed The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeder's Association of America. They named Black Allan the head of the lineage.
Morphology
It is an elegant horse with a stocky body, the trunk having a somewhat quadrangular structure. He is often presented in a campy attitude8. The head is a little large and often sheepish5. Its ears are straight and the neckline is strong and arched. The shoulder is strong and oblique. The chest is wide. His back is strong, short and straight. The croup and kidneys are strong. Its limbs are hard and dry, but it is often a little weak of the hind legs. The hoof is well formed, resistant and durable. Its mane and tail have abundant hairs, which are often left long. Breeders sometimes perform an intervention on the tail by cutting the nerve, which gives it a position raised very fashionable in England at the beginning of the nineteenth century. This habit tends to be lost.Paces
The Tennessee Walker is selected for its particular gaits; It has three so-called "floating" gaits: the flat walk, the running walk and the Rocking Chair Canter. The flat walk is a slow and slippery step; This regular four-stroke pace is so ample and loose that the horse seems to float above the ground. The running walk is a fast and dissociated step, convenient and very ample; It is an accelerated version of the previous one that can reach nearly 25 km / h. The rocking chair canter is a small gathered gallop that gives a rolling movement; It is obtained by an elevation of the forehand, while the hindhand remains almost horizontal.
The Tennessee Walker was the subject of a study to determine the presence of the mutation of the DMRT3 gene causing the additional gaits: the study of 54 subjects detected the presence of this mutation in 100% of them, and the existence of gaited horses among the breed .
Morphological characteristics of Tennessee Walker
- Waist
The Tennessee Walker measures between 1m52 and 1m63 at the withers.
- Weight
It weighs about 550 kg.
- Dress
- Morphology
Forehand: It has a large head, an arched neckline and sloping shoulders.
Hindquarter: Its rump is tilted.
Aplomb: Its limbs are thin, its posteriors are weak. The hooves of the anteriors are sometimes left long to accentuate the pace but these practices are very controversial.
- Physical description and peculiarities of the breed
The main peculiarities of this breed are its comfortable and unusual gaits:
- The flat-foot walk
- The running walk
- The rocking chair canter
These gaits are natural, the foal has the running-walk a few days after birth.
Uses
Its first use was for a long time work in plantations. It is now bred for exhibitions, and serves as a saddle horse and gaits6. During competitions, he can compete in several categories: the pleasure plantation, where the horse must display brilliance and presence by performing real market gaits; the western pleasure, in which the horse must expose its qualities for ranch work; the model, where the horse must show characteristics of perfect conformation and condition; and finally performance, practiced especially in England where the horse performs the fundamental gaits with more activity and brilliance.
Diffusion of livestock farming
Tennessee Walker breeding has grown strongly in recent years under the leadership of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeder's Association of America (TWHBEA). It is considered the second fastest growing breed in the world, just behind the Paint Horse. Western Horseman magazine recently stated that the Tennessee Walker is now the fourth breed in terms of equine population (based on new foal records). In 2003, TWHBEA registered approximately 15,000 horsepower. There are over 400,000 horsepower in the TWHBEA registration system. TWHBEA has 18,000 members in every state in the United States as well as fourteen foreign countries.
In addition, the book Equine Science (4th edition of 2012) ranks the Tennessee Walker among the internationally known saddle horse breeds.
Horse hooves
Wedges wedged on the foot of a Tennesse Walker
The looks of the Tennessee Walker are often exaggerated by breeders or trainers who use monstrous techniques. On a very long hoof, they put a wedge wedge that allows a more marked running walk. To teach the horse to raise its knees, some breeders do not hesitate to lay crown chains. The pain caused when the horse puts his foot down forces him to raise it higher. There is mention of technique by screwing or nailing in different parts of the anterior hooves, playing on the sensitivity of the sole, making it painful for the horse to put its anterior: it shifts its weight back, helping to reach the big lick. Another technique involves intentionally cutting the horse's forehooves so short that the sole hits the ground directly, causing pain that causes the horse to quickly raise its feet.
These practices have been denounced many times by animal protection associations. The National Celebration in Shelbyville has been denounced by Friends of Sounds Horses which accuses breeders and show riders of using particularly coercive and painful instruments on horses as soon as they are broken at the age of 18 months. During competitions, the horses' tails can be raised with a metal device that exerts a leverage effect, and the tail ligaments are severed so that only the first vertebrae go up. Nearly two-thirds of running walk show horses have their forelimbs burned by chemicals that make them more sensitive to chains. The regulations of the Horse Protection Act have prohibited it since the 1970s but due to lack of resources, only 7% of competitions are controlled. In 2013, trainer Jackie McConnell, whose practices had been revealed by a hidden camera video, was sentenced to one year in prison and a 20-year ban on training horses, which permanently ended his career because of his age.
Aptitudes du Tennessee Walker
- Behavior / Character
Tennessee Walkers are gentle and docile horses.
- Sports to which he is predisposed
In the United States, the Tennessee Walker is often found in running walk contests, a contest based on the evaluation of pace and attitude.
Unfortunately, many abuses take place to accentuate the pace and increase the chances of winning.
Horses' feet are sometimes soaked in acid or surrounded by chains to make them more sensitive, and wedges are attached to the hooves to elevate gaits even more. The nerves of the tails can be cut to obtain a raised position and more easily meet the selection criteria.
Tennessee Walker Health
- Life expectancy
Tennessee Walker's life expectancy ranges from 20 to 30 years.
- Feeding
- General health
- Paralyzing periodic hyperkalemia: This is a hereditary muscle pathology, due to a genetic mutation, which prevents the regulation of intracellular potassium and causes involuntary contraction. The repetition of these contractions causes muscle hypertrophy.
- Polysaccharide overload myopathy: This is a disease caused by glycogen storage abnormalities and causes muscle problems.
- Back problems and navicular disease are often found in farms using hoof holds.
"Close" breeds
The horses close to the Tennessee Walker are the Thoroughbred, Morgan, Saddlebread and Standardbread horses in view of the crosses made.The Saddlebread breed is very similar to it because these horses also have very high gaits.
Sources:
https://fr.point.pet/tennessee-walking-horse-profil-de-race/
Debby Sly's "Encyclopedia of the Horse"
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Walker#Liens_externes
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