Gaits And Movement

Anastasia Kellogg

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 different definitions

Gaits And Movement

• 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

Gaits And Movement

• 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

Natural Vs. Artificial Gaits

• 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 separate footfalls before the sequence repeats. Two feet striking the ground simultaneously create a single beat.

Gaits

• Walk– A slow, flat footed

natural four beat lateral gait, and the basis for virtually all training

Gaits

• 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

Gaits

• 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

Gaits

• 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

Gaits

• Run– A gallop extended to

its utmost and becoming a four beat gait as the diagonal pair becomes dissociated; the hind foot striking the ground before its diagonal forefoot

Gaits

• 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 irrelevant when traveling 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

Gaits

• Counter canter– This is taking the

outside lead purposefully, and is not recommended on green, unbalanced horses

Gaits

• 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”

Gaits

• Amble– Usually refers to the

slow gait

Gaits

• Rack– A fast, four beat lateral

gait demonstrated by the five gaited Saddlebred

– Also visible in other gaited breeds

Gaits

• Slow gait– Four beat lateral gait

similar to, but slower than, the rack; also called the amble or single foot

Gaits

• Running walk– Four beat lateral gait of

the Tennessee Walker

– Majority of TWH’s move like the horse at left…but…

Gaits

• Running walk– This is what you will

see in a contest…however gruesome and sad it is

Gaits

• Paso fino– Four beat lateral gait

and the slowest gait of the Paso Fino, the fine walk

Gaits

• 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

Gaits

• Paso largo– Four beat lateral gait

slightly faster then the paso fino; this is the fastest gait that the Paso is usually asked to perform, and is sometime compared to the running walk; may reach 16 miles per hour

Gaits

• Trocha– Fastest gait of which

the Paso Fino is capable, two beat lateral gait identical to the pace; a serious breech of etiquette to perform in public and a serious fault in the show ring

Gaits

• 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

Gaits

• Paso llano– Slowest gait of the

Peruvian Paso, although they also perform a natural walk

Gaits

• Sobreanando– Fast broken pace

performed by the Peruvian Paso

Gaits

• Hauchano– True pace performed

by the Peruvian Paso

Gaits

• 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

Gaits

• Tolt– Running walk of the

Icelandic pony, sometimes said to be more similar to the rack

Gaits

• Missouri Fox Trot– Four beat diagonal,

broken trot. At first glance, the horse appears to be walking with his front end and trotting behind

Gaits

• Paso De Andatura– High stepping gait of

the Andalusian (“Spanish Walk”)

Gaits

• Termino– The outward swing of

the leg displayed by the Peruvian Paso during its gaits (NOT TO CONFUSED WITH PADDLING, termino comes from the shoulder, and is a very graceful movement)

Extension

• 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

Collection

• 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

Gait Defects

• Winging out– Also called paddling

– The foreleg swings to the outside; considered the lesser of two evils

Gait Defects

• Plaiting– Also called rope

walking, refers to placing the feet in front of each other while in motion. Usually caused by narrow conformation.

Gait Defects

• 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 a 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

Gait Defects

• 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

• While standing, a horse carries 65% 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

Miscellaneous

• It is recommended that you review conformation and gaits at the same time