Date post: | 07-May-2015 |
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Gaits And Movement
Anastasia Kellogg
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
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
Gaits And Movement
• Good engagement refers to reaching well forward with the hind legs, ‘using the hindquarters’
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
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
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.
Gaits
• Walk– A slow, flat footed
natural four beat lateral gait, and the basis for virtually all training
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
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
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
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
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
Gaits
• Counter canter– This is taking the
outside lead purposefully, and is not recommended on green, unbalanced horses
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”
Gaits
• Amble– Usually refers to the
slow gait
Gaits
• Rack– A fast, four beat lateral
gait demonstrated by the five gaited Saddlebred
– Also visible in other gaited breeds
Gaits
• Slow gait– Four beat lateral gait
similar to, but slower than, the rack; also called the amble or single foot
Gaits
• Running walk– Four beat lateral gait of
the Tennessee Walker
– Majority of TWH’s move like the horse at left…but…
Gaits
• Running walk– This is what you will
see in a contest…however gruesome and sad it is
Gaits
• Paso fino– Four beat lateral gait
and the slowest gait of the Paso Fino, the fine walk
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
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
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
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
Gaits
• Paso llano– Slowest gait of the
Peruvian Paso, although they also perform a natural walk
Gaits
• Sobreanando– Fast broken pace
performed by the Peruvian Paso
Gaits
• Hauchano– True pace performed
by the Peruvian Paso
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
Gaits
• Tolt– Running walk of the
Icelandic pony, sometimes said to be more similar to the rack
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
Gaits
• Paso De Andatura– High stepping gait of
the Andalusian (“Spanish Walk”)
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)
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
Collection
• When a horse collects properly, he brings his hind end under him, he does not simply slow down
Gait Defects
• Winging in– The foreleg swings to
the inside
Gait Defects
• Winging out– Also called paddling
– The foreleg swings to the outside; considered the lesser of two evils
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.
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
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
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
Miscellaneous
• It is recommended that you review conformation and gaits at the same time