The horse’s gaits

Most horses have three gaits: the walk, the trot, and the canter.

Horses that have additional gaits are called gaited horses; they also master the tölt and/or the pace. The most famous gaited horse is the Icelandic horse.

The walk is a four-beat gait, which means the horse lifts and places its legs independently of one another. Sometimes two, and sometimes three legs are on the ground.

In the walk, the legs are lifted in the following sequence: left hind, left fore, right hind, right fore.

The trot is a two-beat gait with a moment of suspension (all legs are off the ground). In the trot, the diagonal pairs of legs are placed down simultaneously. Between both phases, the horse has a moment of suspension.

The legs are placed down in the trot as follows: left fore and right hind simultaneously, and right fore and left hind simultaneously.

The canter is a three-beat movement, distinguishing between a right-lead and a left-lead canter. This depends on which foreleg reaches furthest forward. If the right foreleg reaches furthest forward, we call this the right-lead canter. If the left foreleg reaches furthest forward, we call this the left-lead canter.

In the left-lead canter, the footfall sequence is as follows: right hind, right fore together with left hind, left fore. This is followed by a moment of suspension before the horse makes the next canter stride.

In the right-lead canter, the movement is reversed: left hind, left fore together with right hind, right fore.

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