Gaits
The various patterns and rhythms in which a horse moves its legs are called its gaits. A horse usually has three natural gaits and some are trained to perform several artificial gaits as well. The natural gaits of most horses are (1) the walk; (2) either the trot or, less frequently, the pace; and (3) the canter. (The canter is sometimes called the gallop; often, however, that term is reserved for a similar but faster gait, in which case the canter is considered a collected [smooth] gallop.) All artificial gaits are variations of the walk, trot, pace, or canter. Horses of some breeds have as their second natural gait a movement that is neither a trot nor a pace; the fast, loose running walk of the Tennessee Walking Horse is an example.
The terms three-gaited and five-gaited usually refer to American Saddle Horses ridden at three gaits or at five gaits. A three-gaited American Saddle Horse is ridden at a walk, trot, and canter; a five-gaited one at a walk, trot, canter, slow gait (usually a slow, showy stepping pace—a pace with four beats), and rack (a fast, flashy, unnatural four-beat gait).
A horse may perform gaits with high action (knees and hocks bending sharply as the animal lifts its feet) or low action. Breeding may predispose a horse to have naturally high or low action, as it may to perform certain artificial gaits more easily. But training is the major factor in determining the number of gaits and the way in which they are performed.
Gaits are the ways that a horse moves as it walks or runs. Horses have four gaits that are natural to them, which they do not need to be taught: walk, trot, canter, and gallop.
A walk is the slowest gait. The horse moves at about 4 miles (6 kilometers) an hour. In a walk, a horse’s right back foot strikes the ground; then its right front foot strikes the ground; its left back foot, and finally its left front foot. Each step takes place over one beat, so the walk is a four-beat gait.
A trot is a two-beat gait at about 9 miles (14 kilometers) an hour. On the first beat, the horse’s right front and left back foot strike the ground. On the second beat, its left front and right back foot strike the ground.
A canter is a three-beat riding gait. A horse canters at 10 to 12 miles (16 to 19 kilometers) an hour. On the first beat, one back foot strikes the ground. (Some horses begin a canter with their left back foot and others with their right back foot.) On the second beat, the other back foot and opposite front foot hit the ground together. On the third beat, the other front foot strikes the ground.
A gallop is a horse’s fastest natural gait. It consists of four beats. For the first two beats, the back feet strike the ground one after the other. On the third and fourth beats, the front feet hit the ground in the same order as the hind feet did. Then the horse leaps forward, and all its feet leave the ground.
