Gaits and Movement
- the most common gaits of the horse are the walk, trot, canter, and gallop;
- (some texts list them as the four natural gaits, while other texts either consider the canter and gallop to be the same gait, or ignore one or the other)
- good movement is important in all breeds, although breed standards may have differing definitions
- a daisy cutter is a horse whose stride is flat and near the ground; this is desirable in a thoroughbred or hunter, but a serious defect in a saddlebred or hackney
- moving straight, without throwing the legs either inward or outwards, is desired in almost all breeds
- the Peruvian Paso is the most notable exception
- good engagement refers to reaching well forward with the hind legs, 'using the hindquarters'
Natural vs. Artificial Gaits
- the terms natural and artificial often lead to confusion and disagreement, since most 'gaited' breeds are born with the ability to perform their special "artificial" gaits
- for our purposes, a natural gait is one that the average horse performs at birth, without special training, and without generations of breeding to produce a varied gait
- the natural gaits are therefore the walk, trot, (canter), and gallop
- the artificial gaits are therefore the pace,
amble, slow gait, rack, running walk, fox trot, paso fino, paso corto, paso largo, paso de andatura, and tolt
The Gaits
- two things are almost always included in the definition of an individual gait: number of beats and whether it is lateral or diagonal
- simply put, in a diagonal gait the foreleg and opposite hind leg work together
- simply put, in a lateral gait, the foreleg and hind leg on the same side work together
- number of beats refers to the number of seperate footfalls before the sequence repeats. Two feet striking the ground simultaneously create a single beat.
- Walk: a slow, flat footed natural four beat lateral gait, and the basis for virtually all training
- Trot: a natural, two beat diagonal gait with great variations in possible speed; the style of trot varies from breed to breed and from use to use
- Canter: a three beat, natural gait with suspension (a moment with no feet on the ground); technically diagonal, although it is rare to hear it called such; the canter is actually just a slow gallop and is therefore sometimes ignored by older texts
- Gallop: a natural, fast three beat gait; first beat is made by a hind foot, then the other hind foot with its diagonal forefoot, then the remaining forefoot
- Run: a gallop extended to its utmost and becoming a four beat gait as the diagnol pair becomes dissociated; the hind foot striking the ground before its diagonal forefoot
- Lead: refers to which foreleg is not part of the diagonal pair, and therefore reaches slightly farther, during a canter, gallop, or run
- Wrong lead: ideally, the horse should lead with the inside foreleg; if he does not, he is on the wrong lead (this is of course irrelevent when travelling in a straight line)
- Disunited or cross cantering: the horse is on one lead in the front and the opposite lead in back. Extremely uncomfortable to ride and unstable for the horse.
- Counter Canter: This is taking the outside lead purposefully, and is not recommended on green, unbalanced horses
- Pace: an artificial two beat lateral gait performed most notably by harness racing Standardbreds, although many breeds are capable of it; pacers are nicknamed "side-wheelers"
- Amble: usually refers to the slow gait
- Rack: a fast, four beat lateral gait demonstrated by the five gaited saddlebred
- Slow Gait: four beat lateral gait similiar to, but slower than, the rack; also called the amble or single foot
- Running Walk: four beat lateral gait of the Tennessee Walker and related breeds
- Paso Fino: four beat lateral gait and the slowest gait of the Paso Fino, the fine walk
- Paso Corto: four beat lateral gait slightly faster than the paso fino; while the paso fino is highly collected, the paso corto is an extended gait
- Paso Largo: four beat lateral gait much faster than the paso fino; this is the fastest gait that the Paso is usually asked to perform, and is sometimes compared to the running walk; may reach 16 miles per hour
- trocha: fastest gait of which the Paso Fino is capable, two beat lateral gait identical to the pace; a serious breach of etiquette to perform in public and a serious fault in the show ring
- trocha y galope: a broken gait in which the pace is mixed with the canter or gallop; another bad idea in public, although said to be comfortable to ride
- paso llano: slowest gait of the peruvian paso, although they also perform a natural walk
- sobreanado: fast broken pace performed by the Peruvian Paso
- hauchano: true pace performed by the Peruvian Paso
- thread: a Peruvian Paso with excellent 'thread' makes smooth transitions from the flat walk through all of the faster gaits
- pisos: a Peruvian Paso with pisos has good timing, extension, animation, smoothness, elegance, and forward motion
- gateado: remarkably smooth, supple, and catlike quality possessed by superior Peruvian Pasos
- Tolt: running walk of the Icelandic pony, sometimes said to be more similiar to the rack
- Missori Fox Trot: four beat diagonal, broken trot. At first glance, the horse appears to be walking with his front end and trotting behind
- paso de andatura: high stepping gait of the Andalusian ("Spanish Walk")
- termino: the outward swing of the leg displayed by the Peruvian Paso during its gaits (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH PADDLING, termino comes from the shoulder, and is a very graceful movement)
Extension and Collection
- when a horse extends his gait properly, his strides come at the same rate, but are longer, and he therefore covers ground faster without increasing the tempo
- when a horse collects properly, he brings his hind end under him, he does not simply slow down
Gait Defects
- winging in: the foreleg swings to the inside
- winging out: (also called paddling) the foreleg swings to the outside; considered the lesser of two evils
- plaiting: also called rope walking, refers to placing the feet in front of each other while in motion. Usually caused by narrow conformation.
- striking: refers to any time a horse hits his own leg with a hoof
- interference: a vaguer term for striking
- forging: refers to the striking of a foreleg with the hind leg on the same side; usually happens at the trot, and usually refers to the toe of the hind foot striking the heel of the front foot
- overreaching: when the horse actually grabs his front heel and does injury to himself with a hind foot
- speedy cutting: refers to the striking of a hind leg with a foreleg, usually in sports such as barrel racing which include sharp turns at high speeds
- cross firing: sometimes used incorrectly in reference to a disunited canter, but actually refers to a pacer striking a foreleg with the diagonal hind leg
Miscellaneous
- camels pace (it came up once!)
- while standing, a horse carries 55% of his weight on the forelegs
- while standing, a horse's center of gravity is very close to the heart girth
- while moving, a horse's center of gravity varies continuously
- when the horse is said to be on his forehand, he is carrying himself with his center of gravity too far forward
- when a horse engages his hindquarters, his balance shifts back
- the head and neck are also important in balance
- it is recommended that you review conformation and gaits at the same time
