Gaits And Movement
- 1. Gaits And Movement Anastasia Kellogg
- 2. Gaits And Movement The most common gaits of the horse are the walk, trot, canter, and gallop; (some texts list them as the four natural gaits, while other texts either consider the canter and gallop to be the same gait, or ignore one or the other) Good movement is important in all breeds, although breed standards may have different definitions
- 3. Gaits And Movement A daisy cutter is a horse whose stride is flat and near the ground; this is desirable in a Thoroughbred or hunter, but a serious defect in a Saddlebred or Hackney Moving straight, without throwing the legs either inward or outwards, is desired in almost all breeds The Peruvian Paso is the most notable exception
- 4. Gaits And Movement Good engagement refers to reaching well forward with the hind legs, ‘using the hindquarters’
- 5. Natural Vs. Artificial Gaits The terms natural and artificial often lead to confusion and disagreement, since most ‘gaited’ breeds are born with the ability to perform their special “artificial” gaits For our purposes, a natural gait is one that the average horse performs at birth, without special training, and without generations of breeding to produce a varied gait The natural gaits are therefore the walk, trot, (canter), and gallop
- 6. Natural Vs. Artificial Gaits The artificial gaits are therefore the pace, amble, slow gait, rack, running walk, fox trot, paso fino, paso corto, paso largo, paso de andatura, and tolt
- 7. The Gaits Two things are almost always included in the definition of an individual gait: number of beats and whether it is lateral or diagonal Simply put, in a diagonal gait the foreleg and opposite hind leg work together Simply put, in a lateral gait, the foreleg and hind leg on the same side work together Number of beats refers to the number of separate footfalls before the sequence repeats. Two feet striking the ground simultaneously create a single beat.
- 8. Gaits Walk A slow, flat footed natural four beat lateral gait, and the basis for virtually all training
- 9. Gaits Trot A natural, two beat diagonal gait with great variations in possible speed; the style of trot varies from breed to breed and from use to use
- 10. Gaits Canter A three beat, natural gait with suspension (a moment with no feet on the ground); technically diagonal, although it is rare to hear it called such; the canter is actually just a slow gallop and is therefore sometimes ignored by older texts
- 11. Gaits Gallop A natural, fast three beat gait; first beat is made by a hind foot, then the other hind foot with its diagonal forefoot, then the remaining forefoot
- 12. Gaits Run A gallop extended to its utmost and becoming a four beat gait as the diagonal pair becomes dissociated; the hind foot striking the ground before its diagonal forefoot
- 13. Gaits Lead Refers to which foreleg is not part of the diagonal pair, and therefore reaches slightly farther, during a canter, gallop, or run Wrong lead Ideally, the horse should lead with the inside foreleg; if he does not, he is on the wrong lead (this is of course irrelevant when traveling in a straight line) Disunited or cross cantering The horse is on one lead in the front and the opposite lead in back. Extremely uncomfortable to ride and unstable for the horse
- 14. Gaits Counter canter This is taking the outside lead purposefully, and is not recommended on green, unbalanced horses
- 15. Gaits Pace An artificial two beat lateral gait performed most notably by harness racing Standardbreds, although many breeds are capable of it; pacers are nicknamed “side-wheelers”
- 16. Gaits Amble Usually refers to the slow gait
- 17. Gaits Rack A fast , four beat lateral gait demonstrated by the five gaited Saddlebred Also visible in other gaited breeds
- 18. Gaits Slow gait Four beat lateral gait similar to, but slower than, the rack; also called the amble or single foot
- 19. Gaits Running walk Four beat lateral gait of the Tennessee Walker Majority of TWH’s move like the horse at left…but…
- 20. Gaits Running walk This is what you will see in a contest…however gruesome and sad it is
- 21. Gaits Paso fino Four beat lateral gait and the slowest gait of the Paso Fino, the fine walk
- 22. Gaits Paso corto Four beat lateral gait slightly faster than the paso fino; while the paso fino is highly collected, the paso corto is an extended gait
- 23. Gaits Paso largo Four beat lateral gait slightly faster then the paso fino; this is the fastest gait that the Paso is usually asked to perform, and is sometime compared to the running walk; may reach 16 miles per hour
- 24. Gaits Trocha Fastest gait of which the Paso Fino is capable, two beat lateral gait identical to the pace; a serious breech of etiquette to perform in public and a serious fault in the show ring
- 25. Gaits Trocha y galope A broken gait in which the pace is mixed with the canter or gallop; another bad idea in public, although said to be comfortable to ride
- 26. Gaits Paso llano Slowest gait of the Peruvian Paso, although they also perform a natural walk
- 27. Gaits Sobreanando Fast broken pace performed by the Peruvian Paso
- 28. Gaits Hauchano True pace performed by the Peruvian Paso
- 29. Gaits Thread A Peruvian Paso with excellent ‘thread’ makes smooth transitions from the flat walk through all of the faster gaits Pisos A Peruvian Paso with pisos has good timing, extension, animation, smoothness, elegance, and forward motion Gateado Remarkably smooth, supple, and catlike quality possessed by superior Peruvian Pasos
- 30. Gaits Tolt Running walk of the Icelandic pony, sometimes said to be more similar to the rack
- 31. Gaits Missouri Fox Trot Four beat diagonal, broken trot. At first glance, the horse appears to be walking with his front end and trotting behind
- 32. Gaits Paso De Andatura High stepping gait of the Andalusian (“Spanish Walk”)
- 33. Gaits Termino The outward swing of the leg displayed by the Peruvian Paso during its gaits (NOT TO CONFUSED WITH PADDLING, termino comes from the shoulder, and is a very graceful movement)
- 34. Extension When a horse extends his gait properly, his strides come at the same rate, but are longer, and he therefore covers ground faster without increasing the tempo
- 35. Collection When a horse collects properly, he brings his hind end under him, he does not simply slow down
- 36. Gait Defects Winging in The foreleg swings to the inside
- 37. Gait Defects Winging out Also called paddling The foreleg swings to the outside; considered the lesser of two evils
- 38. Gait Defects Plaiting Also called rope walking, refers to placing the feet in front of each other while in motion. Usually caused by narrow conformation.
- 39. Gait Defects Striking Refers to any time a horse hits his own leg with a hoof Interference A vaguer term for striking Forging Refers to the striking of a foreleg with a hind leg on the same side; usually happens at the trot, and usually refers to the toe of the hind foot striking the heel of the front foot
- 40. Gait Defects Overreaching When the horse actually grabs his front heel and does injury to himself with a hind foot Speedy cutting Refers to the striking of a hind leg with a foreleg, usually in sports such as barrel racing which include sharp turns at high speeds Cross firing Sometimes used incorrectly in reference to a disunited canter, but actually refers to a pacer striking a foreleg with the diagonal hind leg
- 41. Miscellaneous While standing, a horse carries 65% of his weight on the forelegs While standing, a horse’s center of gravity is very close to the heart girth While moving, a horse’s center of gravity varies continuously When the horse is said to be on his forehand, he is carrying himself with his center of gravity too far forward When a horse engages his hindquarters, his balance shifts back The head and neck are also important in balance
- 42. Miscellaneous It is recommended that you review conformation and gaits at the same time