| Horse Gaits |
| WALKING Four-beat gait At a walk, the horse has three feet on the ground and only one in the air at any time. It places each foot on the ground in turn; first a hind leg, followed by the foreleg on the same side, then the other hind leg and finally the remaining foreleg. |
| TROTTING Two-beat gait At the trot, opposite fore- and hind feet hit the ground together in turn to give a two-beat gait. The fact that only one forefoot or hind foot bearing weight at any one time makes this the best gait to use to detect lameness. |
| CANTERING Three-beat gait At the canter, two diagonal feet hit the ground separately, making a three-beat gait. One forefoot is followed by the opposite hind foot, then the other two feet together. There is a time when no feet are on the ground. |
| GALLOPING Four-beat gait This follows the same pattern as the canter, but the paired limbs do not hit the ground together. The hind limb lands slightly before the paired limb making a four-beat gait. In the gallop and the canter, the horse can change which foreleg is leading. |
| ARTIFICIAL GAITS |
| Just as humans have interfered with horses, they have also developed artificial gaits to enhance riding comfort and give a showy appearance. The Paso is a four-beat, lateral gait of the Peruvian Paso breed, which results in a very smooth ride. |
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| Right Lead Canter |
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| Left Lead Canter |
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| Left Lead Gallop |
| Right Lead Gallop |
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| Gaits and Movement A wild horse spends most of its day grazing, and usually only when it has to move to new pastures does it travel any distance. Only rarely would it walk ot trot for more than five to 10 minutes without stopping. By trotting for 10 minutes a horse can cover quite a distance, certanly far enough for it to reach a new grazing area. Fear will stimulate a horse to gallop away from danger, but it cannot keep galloping for long, and it is not necessary for it to do so. After a few minutes, either it will have escaped from the danger, such as a predator, or it will have succumbed. |
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