Horse gait
Encyclopedia : H : HO : HOR : Horse gait
- This is an article on horse gaits, for other meanings see: gait (disambiguation).
Gaits can be roughly categorized into two groups: natural gaits that nearly every horse will use without special training, and several other gaits that may appear naturally in some individuals but which usually require special training and/or special breeding to enable the rider to obtain them by communicating with the horse.
The ordinary gaits
The ordinary gaits are walk, trot, canter, and gallop (in increasing order of speed.) Some people count these as three gaits by considering the gallop a variation of the canter. Others count them as four separate gaits. All four gaits are seen in wild horse populations.
Walk
In this gait, the horse is alternately supported by three legs and two legs. The sequence of events is as follows. The left hind leg moves forward while the other three feet are on the ground. Then the left front foot is lifted, leaving the animal supported by the two right legs which are far apart, with the other two legs in between. The left hind foot hits the ground, and the animal is supported by three feet again. The right hind foot leaves the ground, and the horse is supported by two diagonal legs that are close together. The left front leg hits the ground, giving a three-legged support. Then the motion continues from the start, but with left and right reversed: the right front foot leaves the ground, the right hind foot hits the ground, the left hind foot leaves the ground, and the right front foot hits the ground, completing the cycle. The horse will move its head and neck to maintain its balance.
Ideally, the advancing rear hoof touches the ground ahead of the spot where the previously advancing front hoof touched the ground. This makes for a smoother and more comfortable walk. Individual horses and different breeds vary in the smoothness of their walk.
Essentially all mammals, when walking on four legs, follow the same sequence: left hind leg, left front leg, right hind leg, right front leg, in a regular 1-2-3-4 beat.
Trot
Main article: Trot (horse gait).
The trot is a two beat gait that averages about 8 miles per hour, or roughly the speed a human can run. A very slow trot is sometimes referred to as a jog. An extremely fast trot has no special name, but in harness racing, the trot of a Standardbred is faster than the gallop of the average non-racehorse.
In this gait, the horse moves its legs in unison in diagonal pairs. From the standpoint of the balance of the horse, this is a very stable gait, and the horse need not make major balancing motions with its head and neck.
The trot is the working gait for a horse. Despite what one sees in movies, horses can only canter and gallop for short periods at a time, after which they need time to rest and recover. Horses in good condition can maintain a working trot for hours. The trot is the main way horses travel quickly from one place to the next.
However, depending on the horse and its speed, a trot can be difficult for a rider to sit because the body of the horse actually drops a bit between beats and bounces up again when the next set of legs strike the ground. Each time another diagonal pair of legs hits the ground, the rider is given a strong upward bump and unless trained to relax and absorb the shock of the gait, can be jolted out of the saddle and meets the horse with some force on the way back down.
Most riders can sit a slow jog trot without bouncing. A skilled rider can ride even a powerfully extended trot without bouncing, but to do so requires well-conditioned back and stomach muscles and to do so for long periods is tiring for even experienced riders. A fast, uncollected, racing trot, such as that of the harness racing horse, is virtually impossible to sit.
Therefore, at faster speeds, especially in English-style riding disciplines, most riders post to the trot, rising up and down in rhythm with the horse to avoid being jolted. Posting is easy on the horse's back and once mastered is also easy on the rider.
Because the trot is such a safe and efficient gait for a horse, learning to ride the trot correctly is an important component in almost all Equestrian disciplines. Nonetheless, "gaited horses," or horses with smooth 4-beat intermediate gaits that replace or supplement the trot (see fox trot, running walk, slow gait, tolt and rack below), are popular with riders who prefer for various reasons not to have to ride at a trot.
Canter
The canter is a controlled, three-beat gait that usually is a bit faster than the average trot, but slower than the gallop. Listening to a horse canter, one can usually hear the three beats as though a drum had been struck three times in succession. Then there is a rest, and immediately afterwards the three-beat occurs again. The faster the horse is moving, the longer the suspension time between the three beats.
In the canter, one of the horse's rear legs, the right rear leg, for example, propels the horse forward. During this beat, the horse is supported only on that single leg while the remaining three legs are moving forward. On the next beat the horse catches itself on the left rear and right front legs while the other hind leg is still momentarily on the ground. On the third beat, the horse catches itself on the left front leg while the diagonal pair is momentarily still in contact with the ground.
The more-extended foreleg is matched by a slightly more extended hind leg on the same side. This is referred to as a "lead". Except in special cases, a horse should lead with its inside feet on a circle. Therefore, A horse that begins cantering with the right rear leg as described above would have the left front and rear legs more extended. This would be referred to as being on the "left lead." If a horse is leading with one front foot but the opposite hind foot, it produces an awkward rolling movement, called a disunited canter or "cross-firing."
At liberty, individual horses may tend to prefer to lead with either the left or right side. Horses lean into a turn, so the leading foot matters most during tight turns. If, for instance, the horse is turning to the left, then the horse's left front foot needs to be extended farther to the front to maintain balance. Horses learn to balance themselves around turns by adjusting their lead to the direction of their turn.
When a rider is added to the horse's natural balance, the question of the lead becomes more important. When riding in an enclosed area such as an arena, the correct lead provides the horse with better balance. The rider typically signals the horse which lead to adopt when moving from a slower gait into the canter. In addition, when jumping over fences, the rider typically signals the horse to land on the correct lead to approach the next fence or turn. The rider can also request the horse to deliberately take up the wrong lead (counter-canter), a move required in some dressage competitions, which requires a degree of collection and balance in the horse. The switch from one lead to another while moving in a straight line is called the "flying lead change" or "flying change"). This switch is also a feature of dressage and reining schooling and competition.
The word is commonly said to be short for "Canterbury-gallop", but it may come from an expression meaning "corner-gallop".
- Working canter: the natural canter given by a horse, with "normal" stride length. http://www.horsemagazine.com/CLINIC/D/DIERKS_CLEMENS/CLEMENSONCANTER/CANTER.jpeg http://www.letterperfectfarms.com/4dw08_eith_prescription_7408-canter.JPG
- Medium canter: a canter between the working canter and extended canter. It is bigger and rounder than the working, very forward with moderate extension. http://www.bbmediaservices.com/images/samples/tanya-vinnie-medium-canter1-lg.jpg http://www.classicaldressage.com/horses/images/sedonna/sedonna2004-284.jpg
- Collected canter: an extremely engaged, collected gait (collection refers to having the horse's balance shifted toward the hindquarters) where the strides are shorter, springier, and the horse's frame is short and compressed. http://www.classicaldressage.com/horses/images/maqui/maqui2001-002.jpg http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/images/LisaWilcox456-thumb.jpg (Note: the second picture of the collected canter is a canter pirouette, which is a movement. However, a collected canter is needed for a canter pirouette, and it is possible to seen the short stride and compressed frame of the horse).
- Extended canter: an extension of the canter, where the horse's frame lengthens and the horse takes larger stride, with the horse covering as much ground as possible without losing the 3-beat gait. It is very engaged, and not yet a true gallop.http://thehorsemagazine.com/CLINIC/B/bartlett/champShow5/ChampComp%20folder/ninth.JPG http://www.eurodressage.com/images/2005/05sst/channon_5118.jpg
- Lope: a type of slow, relaxed canter seen in western horses, performed on a loose rein with less collection than a collected canter, but at about the same speed or slower. There is less suspension than in an English or Dressage-style canter, the horse has less-rounded frame and carries its head lower, but the gait is still 3-beat and the horse must be well-engaged in the hindquarters to do a proper lope. http://www.mysticfantasyarabians.com/images/cocoweb2.jpg http://www.brassfieldranch.com/orion%203-14-2005%20in%20saddle%20loping%20lt.jpg
Gallop
The gallop is very much like the canter, except that it is faster, more ground-covering, and the three-beat canter changes to a four-beat gait. It is the fastest gait of the horse, averaging about 25 to 30 miles per hour, and in the wild is used when the animal needed to flee from predators or simply cover short distances quickly. Horses seldom will gallop more than a mile or two before they need to rest, though at a moderately-paced gallop can sustain it for longer distances before they become winded and have to slow down.
The gallop is also the gait of the classic race horse. Modern Thoroughbred horse races are seldom longer than a mile and a half, though in some countries Arabian horses are sometimes raced as far as two and a half miles. The fastest race horse is the American quarter horse which in a short sprint of a quarter mile or less has been clocked at speeds approaching 50 miles per hour.
Like a canter, the horse will strike off with its non-leading hind foot, but in what is the second stage of the canter, in the gallop becomes the second and third stages because the inside hind foot hits the ground a split second before before the outside front foot. Then, both gaits end with the striking off of the leading leg, followed by a moment of suspension when all four feet are off the ground. A careful listener or observer can tell an extended canter from a gallop by the presence of the fourth beat.
Contrary to the old "classic" paintings of running horses, which showed all four legs stretched out in the suspension phase, when the legs are stretched out, at least one foot is still in contact with the ground. When all four feet are off the ground, the legs are bent rather than extended
In a right-lead gallop, the sequence of events is as follows:
- The left hind foot hits the ground to strike off into the gallop, then the right hind foot, placed about 1 meter in front of the left hind foot.
- Then the left hind foot leaves the ground, and immediately afterwards the left front foot hits the ground. The horse is now supported on two diagonal legs, about 2.1 meters apart.
- The right hind foot leaves the ground, and then the right front foot hits the ground, placed about 1.55m in front of the left front foot.
- The left foot leaves the ground.
- Finally, the right foot provides the push-off to reach the phase of suspension again.
Note that when a horse jumps over a fence, the legs are stretched out while in the air, and the front legs hit the ground before the hind legs, which is completely different from the suspended phase of a gallop. Essentially, the horse takes the first two steps of a galloping stride on the take-off side of the fence, and the other two steps on the landing side. A horse has to collect its hindquarters after a jump to strike off into the next stride.
In 1892, Leland Stanford settled an argument about whether galloping horses were ever fully airborne: he paid photographer Eadweard Muybridge to devise an apparatus with multiple trip wires attached to camera shutters. The photos, the first documented example of high-speed photography, clearly showed the horse airborne.
Additional gaits
Pace
The Pace is a two-beat gait where the two legs on the same side of the horse move together. As in the trot, two feet are always off the ground, but in the trot, the two legs diagaonally opposite from each other move together. The trot is more common, but some breeds of horses prefer to pace. Pacers are also faster than trotters on the average.
Horses can be raced at a trot or pace, usually in harness, pulling a sulkey. Among standardbreds, to whom almost all such races are restricted, pacers breed truer than trotters – that is, trotting sires have a higher proportion of pacers among their get than pacing sires do of trotters.
The true two beat pace is rather uncomfortable for riding, as not only is the rider going up and down, as in trotting, but also side to side, like riding a camel. A ride cannot post to a pacing horse. A stepping pace, one of the smooth "gaits" of gaited horses, may have been the gait sometimes used for transport of wounded.
The majority of Icelandic Horses can pace (most of those can also tölt, and are thus called "five-gaited". The five gaits are walk, trot, canter, tölt, pace). Good pacers are held in high regard in this breed, but for a pacer to stand out he has to be able to perform the pace at a high speed. http://www.847.is/stodhestamynd.php?mynd=162as.jpg Slow pacing in Icelandic horses is considered a major flaw. A horse that goes at a slow pace, or "piggy-pace," is called lullari.
Slow gait
This gait follows the same general sequence of movement as the walk, in that lateral pairs of legs move forward in sequence, but the rhythm and collection of the movements are different. The slow gait was developed from the pace. The length of the pace is kept long, but the stride breaks in such a manner to produce a slight gap between the foots-falls. The result is a gait that will be intermediate in speed between the walk and the pace, but very smooth. A version of this gait, called the stepping pace, is said to have been used at times to transport wounded soldiers from battlefields.
Rack
"Racking" is a gait that is also known historically as the "Virginia Single-foot Gait," with many breeds of horses capable of producing this gait, but most commonly associated with the Five-Gaited American Saddlebred. In the rack, the speed is increased to be approximately that of the pace, but instead of being a two-beat gait like the trot and the pace, it is a four-beat gait with equal intervals between each beat.
The rack, like other intermediate gaits is smoother than the trot because the the hooves hitting the ground individually rather in pairs minimizes the force and bounce the horse transmits to the rider.
Riding the rack is like riding on a comfortable chair that slightly sways your hips gently from side to side. To achieve this gait the horse must be in a "hollow position". This means that, instead of a rounded back as seen in dressage horses and those that work off their hind quarters, the spine is curved downward. The downside of this is that this position weakens the back and makes the horse less able to carry the weight of the rider without strain.
This puts the racking horse in the best position to rack without breaking into another gait. If the rider sits back or leans slightly back this will cause the hollow back, or the back to curve downward. This allows the legs to trail and makes the rack easier for the horse.
A speed racker can achieve speeds of a fast canter. The ride is smooth, and the rider appears to remain motionless as the horse racks. The horse itself maintains a fairly still head and most of the action is in the legs.
The rack is a genetic trait in a breed called the "racking horse". A racking horse can rack as easily as other horses trot or canter. Some people debate if the "Racking Horse" is a stand-alone breed, but is was given that designation by the USDA in 1978, and the breed has its own organization today. The Racking Association's goal is to preserve the Racking Horse in a natural state with little or no artificial devices that enhance gait. The horse's tail is naturally raised without nicking. Some classes allow special shoes that enhance the gait but chains and other devices are not allowed. (One banned practice is the application of caustic chemicals just above the hoof, known as "soring," so-called because a horse alters its gait due to discomfort or sore feet. This is a federal offense within the United State of America under the provisions of the Horse Protection Act.)
Fox Trot
Main article: Fox trot.The foxtrot is most often associated with the Missouri Foxtrotter breed, but is also seen under different names in other gaited breeds. The foxtrot is a four-beat diagonal gait in which the front foot of the diagonal pair lands before the hind, eliminating the moment of suspension and giving a "no bounce" ride. The foxtrot is a comfortable gait for trail-riding. Examples of the foxtrot may be seen here http://members.aol.com/blkwlmusco/index/Yankft1c.jpg http://www.foxtrotters.org/FxTrtOldStyleAlmaCallister.jpg http://www.foxtrotters.org/FxTrtOldStyleJeff.jpg.
Tölt
Tölt is a gait that is often described as being unique to the Icelandic Horse. In its pure form, the footfalls are the same as in rack, but the Icelandic horse is bred for more freedom and liquidity of movement. The most prized horses have a very long stride and high lift with their forelegs. http://www.847.is/stodhestamynd.php?mynd=917trist1.jpg Icelandic Riders will demonstrate the smoothness of a tölt by going at the speed of a gallop without spilling a drink they hold. However, some of the breed have a tölt that is considered imperfect, and may be described as a "trotty tölt" or a "pacey tölt". http://www.toltnews.com/images/abouticepage_tolt.jpg.
Further information on gaits
There are several specialized breeds of horses with special genetic inheritance of which facilitates the spontaneous or trained appearance of other gaits such as the pace (in which the legs move in lateral pairs rather than diagonal pairs), the slow gait, the rack, etc. The American Saddlebred has been selectively bred to easily learn the walk, trot, canter, slow gait, and rack. The Peruvian Paso and Paso Fino are two breeds which have a smooth, innate gait. The Paso Fino has slow and fast versions called the paso corto, paso largo, and paso fino. Another breed famous for its distinctive mode of locomotion is the Tennessee Walking Horse, with its running walk.
Other names for intermediate gaits, some smoother, some less so, are singlefooting, amble, Indian shuffle, stepping pace.
references
External links
- [Photographs of various horse traits], by Eadweard Muybridge, Animals in Motion
- [Gaits of the Horse]
- [Animations of the gaits of the Icelandic horse]
- [A map detailing the relationship between the gaits of the Icelandic Horse]
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