Tracking up?

Cortrasna

Cortrasna

Grumpy old nag
Aug 5, 2009
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Ireland
Wasn't at all sure where to puts this so please move if it doesn't suit the powers that be.

Right - here we go. Tracking up? I have been trawling a few forums today in order to pass the time on a very windy and cold day and I am somewhat perplexed by the seemingly general consensus of opinion that if a horse doesn't track up, in any pace or all paces it is therefore unsound.

Whilst I do accept completely that if you have a horse that suddenly stops tracking up in any pace, where it has always tracked up quite happily that is probably a warning bell about a problem manifesting. However, I have known and owned a few horses that don't actually track up in any pace but in my opinion, vets opinion and wiser than me horse folks opinion,. the horse is never the less sound.

Dolly is a typical case in point, long backed not very good conformation horse that doesn't track up, never has from the day I bought her, she is however sound, apart from a small blip last summer that has now (thankfully settled down, so possibly a field pull or some such. Solly on the other hand, always tracked up and when in his later years he stopped tracking up it was my first indicator that he had problems in his hocks or back area. Turned out it was his hocks that were the issue.

So do you think, as it would appear the majority of posters on the internet seem to believe, that if a horse isn't tracking up, it is unsound, end of? Perhaps I am wrong, and not tracking up is classed as unsound these days? Never was back in the day, obviously not the most desirable conformation, but many, many horse and p[onies lived long and useful working lives despite not having the 'magic' ability to track up.
 
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No, Joe never tracked up properly due to confirmation but he was sound. Storm normally tracks up but I wouldn't say a horse like J that has never really tracked up is lame? I was led to believe it could just be the way they were put together. As you say, if they suddenly stop then that's different and could mean something else.
 
Interesting reading Cortrasna. I happened to be thinking about this the other day as I noticed Flipo's hoof prints from a previous hack when I was out running and automatically my first thought was 'oh good, at least he's tracking up' as I assumed, rightly or wrongly, that its important this happens. Your point about Dolly being long backed though, makes me acknowledge that the only reason Flipo manages it, is because he's short backed - otherwise because of his breeding and type, if there was ever a horse that wasn't going to track up but could be sound, it would be my heavy!
Anyway, that doesn't really answer your question, but just adding my tuppence into the mix! Hope the weather's better for you tomorrow!
 
Ale quite often doesn't track up, he's not unsound he's just being a lazy bum.
 
I think the trouble with a lot of what you read on the Internet (and probably books too) is that people read it and repeat it without having any actual experience about the subject. I was watching a pony on our yard in the school at the weekend and noticed that he doesn't track up unless he's really pushed on, but I presume he's like Ale and just lazy. Raf has a short back and overreaches - I always joke that it's because his legs are too long for his back, maybe I actually do have a point lol.
 
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Long backed horse find it hard to track up just as upright shouldered ones have little hope of lengthening in front, it is not unsoundness but a conformational defect if you are looking for perfection for showing or dressage. I personally find long horses more comfortable to ride than short coupled ones. Our RS horses/ponies can all work and track up but will not do so unless ridden to achieve this ( not just forward but getting impulsion from a natural rythmn, the amount of work needed depends on conformation not soundless) TBs bred for speed tend to overtack constantly, a reason many lose shoes so frequently!!
 
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As EML states TB have a lovely loose free walk and over track. Ginger is the first pony I have owned that really does need overreach boots. Chanter is long back and with out rider and just watching in the field he tracks up but on board like Ale he has to be ridden correctly to achieve it so no not a sign of lameness
 
Mine naturally over tracks in walk, my dressage test comment said "could track up more" I wasn't actually asking her to collect. Tracking up to me happens when the horse is using themselves from behind. So unless you ask you won't necessarily get it-in some horses.

If though I start to see mine not track up in walk in my case it is a soundness issue. When in season she goes stiff behind and hence doesn't walk freely. She never does in trot unless spirited. Watching her loose in the field she can collect everything up and strutt herself.
 
I think if the track up suddenly changes or is uneven it indicates there is a potential problem and deserves some attention. I think there are few horses who can't track up but there are some that don't naturally, watching the demo at World Horse Welfare last week we saw Lusitano's and none of them tracked up in trot (they were advanced/international level working equitation horses), the friend I was with who is big into her dressage (affiliated) said the Spanish breeds often don't do well at BD because of this natural trait.

Jess is long backed but tracks up or over tracks well as long as she is using herself, if she gets lazy it can quickly disappear.
 
Very interesting thread Cortrasna, I often get comments about Belle being 'short striding' as while her hind feet land where the fronts have left off she doesn't overtrack, ridden wise she, like Ale will track up if she's pushed and made to work but anything she finds difficult and it all goes a bit pear shaped, I can't say it's because she has a long back because she doesn't she's quite short for a mare but she does have short legs for her bulk as I imagine most Haflingers do and I think that's why she finds it difficult.
So in answer to your question, no I don't think it's an unsoundness if they have always done it and is most likely conformational. Tbh I don't ever remember anyone mentioning 'tracking up' back when I was a girl, but then no one used to worry about 'outline' either. Maybe back in the day we were all doing everything wrong!
 
Womble actually always over tracks. His walk is his best pace and has a big over track for a little short backed short legged cob. He has a big one in trot too. If he stopped over tracking I'd take that as a sign that something was wrong. I think it's down to the individual horse on what's normal for them, but I don't think that not tracking up automatically means a problem
 
I will reveal my ignorance here - I think tracking up is where the hind feet land in or beyond the prints of the fore feet? If that's right (!) Mattie always does it, even though he is stiff and technically unsound. Ziggy only does in walk when he is really stepping out but he is a short legged, short striding, smooth going pony and that seems to be his natural gait. I'm sure that as these responses indicate it varies a lot from horse to horse. Bella the cob and her filly Izzy both have beautiful long striding walks and their hind hooves seem to land a whole hoof length in front of the prints of the backs.
 
Like Jane, I am ignorant about so many of the niceties of showing and riding. Tracking up has been mentioned in my lessons recently only in relation to my riding. So I have assumed I was riding well if told she was tracking up nicely.
So it is interesting to read the part played by conformation. I have a school lesson horse with a long swinging walk - it is an active feeling to ride her and I attributed it to her Andalusian breeding. Riding her without stirrups you can feel her stride forward even better. It feels almost like riding bareback.
Not a single RI has ever mentioned tracking up to me in trot or canter - nor in relation to a particular horse. Trot and canter in lessons can be shorted or extended and is called working or medium - terminology that takes getting used to since medium canter involves my telling the horse he can go as fast as he likes.
 
I'm sure it's right to say that tracking up is a function of conformation and of riding (not necessarily in that order!). Hebe's another who is not naturally forward-going; my avatar pic shows her at a dressage test most definitely not tracking up but certainly sound enough (and me leaning forward probably doesn't help - that was a while ago now).
 
It's really interesting that I read this thread today. I went out for a lesson hack with my RI this lunchtime and Ziggy was very mellow and lazy to start with. As we got onto the Heath my RI said, "You need to ride him forward a bit, he's not even tracking up, he's being lazy." She suggested that I activate one hind leg at a time by using the appropriate leg as an aid but indicating with my contact that I wanted more activity, not a trot. I didn't want him to get silly head-up whizzy, as he did last time, so I encouraged him to keep his head long and low. I couldn't quite figure out how to use my leg so instead I kept my seat fully plugged-in and visualised my energy ball (as in Tai Chi) moving forward, over and over. Ziggy kept his head down but he stepped out better and my RI said, "He is tracking up now. Now he's overtracking."

So he can overtrack, but he is lazy and doesn't like to. My RI commented that a horse has to be supple and athletic to swing though his back and overtrack, especially when he is short coupled and stocky like Ziggy. She asked me to ensure that he steps well under whenever I can (I need to get the feel of it) because nothing is more helpful for his general fitness, health and balance.
 
Interesting to read your responses. It would seem that at least on this forum we don't seem to follow the more usual line of 'Oh your horse isn't tracking up, it must be unsound, looks lame to me, get a full lameness work up done' that seems the most usual response on some other forums!:rolleyes:

Admittedly sometimes when the horse isn't tracking up it can also be seen to be lame in some circumstances, but very often not in the videos I have found recently online.

I do agree as well, that very often a horse that isn't tracking up isn't being asked to use himself properly by the rider, I have been guilty of this with a few horses from time to time when I let them slop along......but even when I have Dolly swinging through at her very best she barely tracks up! Quirky old nag she is!:p JJ on the other hand used to over track quite often. so yes they are all very different.

It was the instant assumption that they aren't tracking up, therefore they are lame that irked me, so often said by persons that set themselves up as self proclaimed online experts and the crowd happily follow their lead and re affirm the myth! Not on this forum though, we don't have many sheep on here I don't think!

Kite_Rider said:
Tbh I don't ever remember anyone mentioning 'tracking up' back when I was a girl, but then no one used to worry about 'outline' either. Maybe back in the day we were all doing everything wrong!
Click to expand...

I think back in the day we were all too busy out actually riding and enjoying our horses to bother our heads with too much of the finer detail - at least I know I was!:D
 
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Hahaha, now I'm confused again!! I thought I knew what tracking up was - where the hind hoof lands in the print of the fore hoof - but if that's the case what is overtracking?? In my head I have a vision of a horse swinging its hind legs right out and round to the side of its fore legs so that the hind hoof can land in front of the fore.
 
Over tracking is when the back hoof lands further in front off the front hoof print, sometimes by only an inch or two sometimes by quite a large space - JJ is probably the one I had that could really over track the most - but he was also probably one of the most supple and energetic back end workers I have owned! As someone else commented, the only problem could be if they catch their front shoe or even the heel of the front foot, with the back hoof, but he never managed to do that, but I usually had him in over reach boots anyway just in case.:)
 
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