Walk, trot, canter, and gallop – horse gaits. Get to know all of them

Horses are magical creatures that draw people in thanks to their amazing temperament and majestic looks. Currently, there are a plethora of equestrian centers that offer safe horse riding lessons and horse care lessons. Interested people can also find numerous books that offer a deeper insight into the functioning of these beautiful animals. In this article, you can read about different gaits of horses and get answers to the most burning questions.

Horse gaits

Horses are by nature steppe animals. They live in herds that travel long distances to find food. It’s not uncommon for horses to spend even 15 hours a day just walking. For this reason, exercise as well as daily turnout are so important.

The horse’s heart pumps blood to muscles and organs during movement. The hoof also benefits from moving, the blood supply increases, and the hoof capsule widens. In the wild, horses usually move in walk. This derives from the need to preserve energy, which is needed to forage for food and to escape possible danger.

Trot and canter can be usually observed during play and when escaping danger. These days people know that horses run in a few different manners. Some of these are taught by humans, while others derive from a specific breed's capabilities. The basic gaits of a horse are walk, trot, canter, and gallop.

Types of horse gaits

Walk

The walk is the slowest of all the other gaits. During the walk a horse moves accordingly: right hind leg, right front leg, left hind leg, and right front leg. This is a symmetrical, four-beat, slow gait during which at least two legs touch the ground. There are five different types of walk:

• Free walk – the horse walks on loose reins, the animal can freely stretch its neck and lower the head. Most commonly used as a relaxing break during a ride.

• Medium walk – quite energetic, regular, and loose walk during which the back legs almost cover the prints of the front legs. The rider keeps a constant yet light contact on the reins. This type of walk was previously called a working trot.

• Extended walk – a horse’s step is the most extended in this type of walk. The back legs step over the prints of the front legs. A horse should cover the longest possible distance without increasing its speed.

• Collected walk – the horse is collected, should carry itself, and the rein contact is kept in accordance. The horse’s nose crosses the front of the vertical line perpendicular to the ground, the neck and back are slightly rounded, while the back legs are visibly engaged. The tempo is regular and energetic.

• Spanish walk – during this type of movement, a horse raises its front legs high. This is a trained walk and is extremely challenging because it requires a lot of energy from the animal.

Trot

Trot is a two beat gait – this means that two diagonal legs touch the ground at the same time, while the other two legs are suspended. The horse’s legs move in the following manner: right back, left front, or left back and right front. A beginner rider might find the trot a challenging gait.

In this gait, a person must learn how to ride a rising trot – controlled rising and sitting down movements that happen every other beat with the horse’s rhythm. In terms of riding style, there are also two other types of trot: sitting trot and half-seat trot. Trot is also divided into gait types:

• Working trot – the most natural type of trot for a horse during which the animal moves with rhythm and ease.

• Medium trot – the horse moves a little bit faster, its body is more stretched than in a working trot.

• Extended trot – during this gait, the horse’s legs should be as extended as possible.

• Collected trot – the horse moves lively and flexes its joints while taking short but springy steps.

Sometimes, a horse might trot incorrectly. In this case, the diagonal legs don’t touch the ground at the same time, making the gait a four-beat instead of a two-beat.

Canter

Horse canter is a three-beat and asymmetrical gait. During canter, the horse’s legs move in a specific order: first one of the back legs, then two diagonal legs, and finally, the last front lead leg – this tells the rider which right or left leg is leading. When cantering in an arena, the inside front leg should be leading.

The order of the horse’s legs in a canter goes as follows: left hind leg, right hind leg, left front, and right front legs (or reversed); after that, there is a suspension phase, during which all four legs aren’t touching the ground. A rider can canter in a half-seat or full seat. There are four types of canter:

• Working canter – the horse moves with ease and rhythm; the tempo is natural.

• Medium canter – a horse moving in a medium canter has a slightly bowed head and neck. The horse’s back is much more engaged, the legs are more extended.

• Collected canter – a slowed down version, during which the bodyweight should shift onto the engaged hindquarters. The front should be slightly elevated, the neck rounded, and the nose should cross the vertical line (perpendicular to the ground).  Horses in collected canter should move energetically yet the movement should be light; the legs should be raised adequately.

• Extended canter – the fastest type of canter during which the horse’s legs are extended as much as possible.

Gallop

The fastest gait of all. This is a four-beat gait during which the horse’s legs move in the following order: right hind leg, left hind leg, right front leg, left front leg (or reversed). There is also a moment of suspension, during which all four hooves are in the air. The average speed of a gallop is around 50-60 km/h. However, some racing horses can even reach over the speed of 70 km/h. When galloping, the rider should remain in a half-seat to relieve the pressure on the horse's back as much as possible.

Counter canter

This is a variety of collected canter during which a horse canters on a “wrong leg” that is, the horse leads with its outside leg. This is a training exercise that requires the horse to have a lot of balance. The back legs should cover the prints of the front legs, the horse’s body should be straight, while the poll is slightly turned towards the lead leg.

Gaited horse breeds

There are a few certain breeds, that thanks to selective breeding, are known as gaited horses. This means that besides the basic four gaits (walk, trot, canter, gallop), these horses can move in a special and different four-beat gait. There are a few different types of these gaits, collectively called ambling gaits. They are smoother to ride, faster than trot but slower than canter, and usually very spectacular to watch. Many of the ambling gaits are lateral, which means that the horse’s limbs on the same side move one after another. The sequence goes as follows: left hind leg, left front leg, right hind leg, right front leg. Some of the four beat lateral gait include running walk (Tennessee Walking Horse), tölt (Icelandic horse), and three different variations of flying gaits seen in Paso Fino and Peruvian Paso horses.

Flying gait

This is a symmetrical and two-beat gait. In this gait, the horse raises two legs on the same side simultaneously. For example, first goes left hind leg and left front leg, and then right hind leg and right front leg. Some breeds have a natural ability to move in this gait such as Paso Fino.

Tölt

This is a four-beat gait during which one leg is always touching the ground. The horse’s legs move quickly in the following order: right front leg, right hind leg, left front leg and left hind leg. This is an extremely demanding and exhausting gait.

Travers

Travers, also known as haunches-in or quarters-in, is a lateral movement during which the horse slightly bends its body towards the inside leg of the rider. The horse’s front legs stay on a path, while the hind legs move to the inside at about 30 degrees. The outside back leg is hidden behind the inside front leg.

This exercise increases the horse’s flexibility and balance. It also can help with the engagement of hindquarters as well as improve the response of the horse to the rider’s leg. Travers can be done in walk, trot, and canter; it can be done when riding in a straight line or a circle.

Passage

This is an advance dressage movement during which the horse raises and suspends its leg in a collected trot. The legs are raised diagonally, the joints are visibly bent, and the hindquarters are lowered. The horse’s movement is fluid, yet the suspension is highlighted.

To perform passage, a horse must undergo hard training, which increases its balance and reactions to the rider’s signals. After some time, a correctly ridden horse will start to move more lightly, and the suspension will become more visible. When a horse learns how to carry itself, the movement is spectacular.

Piaffe

In this movement, a horse in collected trot raises its front legs very high but stays in one place, without moving forward. In comparison to other types of trot, piaffe lacks a suspension phase. In piaffe two diagonal legs are raised, while the two others are on the ground. Piaffe is performed, among others, during Grand Prix dressage competitions.

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