Frequently Asked Questions
Why are you selling him/her? The horses we have for sale are here for that
reason. We're not professional 'horse traders', but we've found that we like
having a couple of gaited trail horses available; it gets more riders going gaited
in this area, and we've made some lasting friendships that started with a horse
for sale. The way we see it, gaited horses are still something relatively new to
our area, so we're helping create a new gaited horse trail riding community.
Where'd he/she come from? We travel to the hills of eastern Kentucky and
Tennessee a couple of times a year to go horse shopping and see some old
friends. They're life-long residents, and are very deep in the local horse
community in their areas, so they have connections to some great owners that,
from time to time, have some horses for sale. We prefer this approach; many of
the horses we get have lived on the same farm for most, if not all of their lives.
This helps us sort out the horses and pick the good ones--every horse for sale is
being sold for a reason; the trick is to rule out the ones that are being sold for
reasons that the new owner won't like, either. That's what we try to do for you.
Click here for more FAQ's
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"But I just want a trail horse"....
"...it's not like I'm looking for some kind of show horse. I just want a trail horse!"
When horse shopping, it's easy to think that "mere" trail horses are at the bottom
end of the spectrum compared to show, race or performance horses. Surely, all
those years of training, breeding and discipline make those other horses much
"better" and much more expensive.
But, think again. Purpose-trained horses tend to do one thing really well. Whether
it's in a ring or on a course, they excel at a single discipline; always seeing a
similar environment, similar obstacles and similar scary things.
Trail horses, on the other hand, deal with the great outdoors, and no two trail rides
are alike. Water, objects (stationary and moving), mud, bicycles, cars, 4 wheelers,
running deer, slippery slopes, loud noises, and on and on and on. Trail horses
must have qualities of a Boy Scout--their kindness, willingness, unflappability,
stamina, calmness all are needed to make the ride a pleasant one.
Oh no, there's no thing as "just a trail horse"!
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Buying from KMA Farm
We're a modest-sized operation; usually no more than three horses available at
any one time. Why? Well, we spend a lot of time with each horse we have here.
After we've brought them home, we take them out on the trail, expose them to as
many obstacles and conditions as we can, test them in the ring over tarps,
pulling logs, facing man-made obstacles, etc. We like having a few horses,
carefully selected to suit your needs, then evaluated at home closely to make
sure they are what we think they are.
We do offer transportation of your new horse for a reasonable fee, and can
arrange post-purchase boarding if you need us to hold onto your new horse
while you prepare for his/her arrival. We have a sales agreement that goes with
each horse; feel free to request a copy by email if you'd like to see it prior to
purchase. And, we recommend a pre-purchase vet suitability exam, confident
that we have healthy trail horses and knowing that peace of mind is important to
you. We can recommend objective, third-party vets in the region who do a
responsible job.
We offer some other services, as well. We can help you with saddle fitting
(saddle fit is different on the average gaited horse, due to differences in their
conformation), and we can help you learn the differences in riding style to get
used to 'riding the glide'.
We now offer hand-made Western and Endurance saddles built especially for
gaited horses, featuring Steele flex-trees, great craftsmanship, and a number of
options to tailor your saddle to you, for a very reasonable price. Built by an Amish
builder, part of a multi-generational family famous for great saddles, we
absolutely love how these saddles fit and how comfortable they are for all-day
rides. Click here for more information, and feel free to inquire--we'll be happy to
send you photos and an order form.
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Gaited Horse tack
There's lots of tack on the market for gaited horses, but we've come to the
conclusion that there are two items that really matter in selecting specific gaited
tack; the bit and the saddle.
Bits: Gaited horses tend to be trained in solid mouthpiece bits with shanks and
curb chain. We've learned that trying to switch to a broken snaffle or other form of
bit (without the chain) usually results in trouble. Lots of riders believe that a broken
snaffle; whether it be a Tom Thumb, D-ring, eggbutt and the like, is a 'mild bit'.
Nothing could be further from the truth--they act like a nutcracker on the horse's
tongue and carve into the roof of the mouth on a horse with a low palate.
Our favorite bit is made by Myler. It's a very mild bit with short shanks. Called a
'comfort snaffle', it's hinged to allow independent movement but cannot fold
enough to become an irritant to the horse. We've used this bit with a number of
different horses, and haven't found one yet that didn't respond well to it (we
introduced our trainer to it, and he's now a convert, too!).
Click on the bit to open the webpage for a retailer with
a great price on this Myler bit. MSRP is $85.95; not
cheap but well worth it, and this retailer sells for a little
less. We use the 4 3/4" shank version.
Saddles: After buying more saddles than either of us would care to remember, we
definitely believe there is such thing as a gaited horse saddle. Gaited horses are
built very, very differently than non-gaited horses, with more prominent withers,
shorter backs, bigger shoulders requiring freedom of movement, and narrower
bodies. We've struggled through fit issues and gaiting problems caused by poor
fit. There are a few good gaited saddles on the market; we'll soon be offering one
for sale that we feel very strongly about--fits most gaited horses great, and we've
seen numerous horses gait more effortlessly when we've used it. Click here for
more information on these great fitting and comfortable saddles!.
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