The way / sequence a horse move its legs for locomotion. For example, people can walk, run and skip.
*Most horses have 3 gaits, a 4 beat walk, a 2 beat trot and a 3 beat canter. Some disciplines will change the wording, for example western disciplines use 4 beat walk, 2 beat jog and a 3 beat lope. But jog = trot and lope = canter.
The Walk – 4 beats, each leg takes it’s turn. There is no moment of suspension (where all 4 legs are off the ground) in the walk. The time each legs spends in the air should be equal, so if you count it would be 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4.
The Trot – 2 beats, the legs move in diagonal pair, like dogs or cats. The right hind will move with the left front, a moment of suspension, then the left hind will move with the right front. The time each diagonal pair spends in the air should be equal, so if you count it would be 1-2-1-2-1-2.
The Canter – 3 beats, with a noticeable moment of suspension that could almost count as a silent 4th ‘beat’. If you were to go from walking to skipping, you would have one leg that stays out to the front, and you could change your leading leg. This is how the horse canters. The sequence is 1 hindleg, a diagonal pair with a hind and front leg, then the leading front leg.
Unlike walk and trot, the canter is asymmetrical, and the horse will have a leading front leg that equestrians call ‘the lead’.
*Most horses, or breeds of horses, have 3 gaits; walk, trot and canter. There are several breeds that have a different 2nd gait, so instead of a trot they would have a gait that has a different sequence of leg movements or foot falls.
This course work will not get into alternative ‘gaited’ horses. This course work will work with the walk, move into the traditional trot and then the canter. This does not mean that people who have horse’s with an alternative gait as their 2nd gait can’t do this course work. A lot of this work will be for relationship development and the safe handling of our horses in day to day activities, regardless of the breed of horse or what gaits it has. And even if your horse has an alternative 2nd gait the posture work in the walk should help your horse’s second gait.
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