A
basic understanding of how horses move can be very useful in riding,
training, analyzing and caring for your horse.
A gait can be
defined as a particular way of going, either natural or acquired,
which is characterized by a distinctive rhythmic movement of the
feet and legs. The natural gaits which we would see in the wild
state are walk, trot, pace and gallop. Under domestication some
have been modified and are called acquired gaits. These are the
slow lope, running walk, rack, stepping pace, and fox trot.
We can also
classify gaits according to how they ride. For instance hard gaited
and easy gaited. Both of these are affected by conformation, breed
and training. For example, steep shouldered horses are usually hard
gaited while long sloping shouldered horses are usually easy gaited.
The breed effect
may be seen; for example, between walking horse breeds and other
breeds. Young horses are usually rough gaited until they learn to
carry the rider’s weight.
The essentials
of a satisfactory way of going is straight-line action, long strides,
regularity of gait (meaning free, fluid and regular), and briskness
of gait.
Each of the
gaits have a particular foot placement called beats. The first beat
of a gait is always started with the hind legs.
