Gaits of Horses

Gaits

• Manner of movement of horses using their legs

• How it runs and walks

Natural gaits

• Walk

• Trot

• Canter/lope

• Gallop/run

Natural gaits are performed by

Quarter horse, Paint horse, Appaloosa, Thoroughbreds, Arabians, Saddlebred horse, and Morgan horse

Walk

• Foundation gait

• Four-beat gait where each foot hits the ground independently

• Pattern of this gait may be as follows

  • Right hind, right front, left hind, left front

  • Right front, left hind, left front, right hind

Walk beats

• A four-beat gait

• Each of the four feet strike the ground separately from the other

  • 1st beat = right hind leg

  • 2nd beat = right fore leg

  • 3rd beat = left hind leg

• 4th beat = left fore leg

Trot

• Two-beat diagonal gait where the legs work in paired diagonals

• Pattern of this gait may be as follows

  • Right hind and left front, left hind and right front

  • Left hind and right front, right hind and left front

Trot beats

• A rapid, diagonal two-beat gain in which the right front and left rear feet hit the ground in unison, and the left front and right rear feet hit the ground in unison

• The horse travels straight without swaying sideways when trotting

  • 1st beat = right fore / left hind

  • 2nd beat = left fore / right hind

Canter / Lope

• Three-beat gait where one pair of feet strike the ground simultaneously and the other two feet land independently

• Right or left lead

  • Right lead

    • Left hind, right hind and left front, right front

  • Left lead

    • Right hind, left hind and right front, left front

• Horses on right lead when circling to the right and left lead when circling to the left

Canter beats

• A fast three-beat gait

• Depending on the lead, the two diagonal legs hit the ground at the same time

• The other hind leg and foreleg hitting at different times

Right-lead canter

• 1st beat = left hind leg

• 2nd beat = right hind / left fore

• 3rd beat = right fore leg

Left lead canter

• 1st beat = right hind leg

• 2nd beat = left hind / right fore

• 3rd beat = left fore leg

Gallop / Run

• Appears to be only faster but actually a different gait containing four beats

•   Also has a right and left lead

• Left lead

  • Right hind, left hind, right front, left front

• Right lead

  • Left hind, right hind, left front, right front

Right-lead gallop

• 1st = left hind leg

• 2nd = right hind leg

• 3rd = left fore leg

• 4th = right fore leg

Left-lead gallop

• 1st = right hind leg

•   2nd = left hind leg

• 3rd = right fore leg

• 4th = left fore leg

Artificial gaits

• Running walk

• Pace

• Slow gait

• Rack

Artificial gaits are natural to specific breeds of horses

• Tennessee walking horse, Missouri fox trot

  • Five-gaited

• American Saddlebred horse

  • Animated walk, trot, slow gait, rack, and canter

• Saddlebred horse driven in harness racing and compete as trotters (2-beat diagonal) or pacers (2-beat lateral)

Running walk

• The fast ground-covering walk of the Tennessee walking horse

• It is an artificial gait that is faster than the normal walk

• The horse moves with a gliding motion as the hind leg oversteps the forefoot print by 12 – 18 inches or more

Slow gait

• This four-beat lateral gait is also known as the stepping pace

• In this gait, the horse performs a broken pace, with the hind and front leg on the same side leaving the ground and landing at slightly different times

• The slow gait is performed by the five-gaited Saddlebred

Pace

• A lateral two-beat gait in which the right front and rear feet hit the ground in unison and the left front and rear feet hit the ground in unison

• There is a swaying from right to left when the horse paces

Rack

• A snappy four-beat gait in which the joints of the legs are highly flexed

• The forelegs are lifted upward to produce a flashy effect

• This is an artificial gait, whereas the walk, trot, pace, gallop, and canter are natural gaits

• The rack is popular in the show-ring for speed and animation