Horse gaits
A gait is the pattern of movement. A horse and pony have three main gaits which include, the walk, trot, and canter. The fourth gait is the gallop. It is not typically used every day unless the horse is used as a Racehorse, Endurance Horse, Steeplechaser, or even in a Cross Country event. There are more uses of a gallop including, fun! A typical lesson barn will teach you to walk, trot, and canter. Be patient, you should always master one gait before moving on to another.
The most difficult to learn is a trot. Each horse trots differently. Some are smooth to ride, with hardly a bump. And then some are very choppy and bump you out of the saddle. English riders are taught to post the trot. Not only does it make it easier to ride the trot, but it also makes it easier on the horses back.
Also, later on, you find out how posting to the correct diagonal will help your horse turn corners easier. By lifting your body off the horses back it releases weight and pressure from that side of his body and allows him to stretch the outside diagonal legs more forward.
As each hoof hits the ground, a rhythmic beat is made.
A horse walking has 4 beats to its gait. Every foot hits the ground one at a time. You can count the rhythm of the walk 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4. Or left hind leg, left front leg, right hind leg, right front leg.
The horse trot is two beats. 1-2, 1-2, 1-2…..The legs move diagonally in pairs, each pair of hooves hit the ground together. We teach riders to post to the outside diagonal leg. The outside is always where the outside of the circle or turn is. An average speed for a trot is eight miles per hour.
The horse canter is a three-beat gait. 1-2,3 1-2,3 1-2,3 The three beats are met with a moment of flight or suspension when all four legs are off the ground. In this video, the first beat is the outside right hindfoot hitting the ground. Then the diagonal pair consisting of a right front and left back foot hit the ground together. Finally, the left front foot hits the ground. Can you can see this happening in the video? It takes practice.
The canter and gallop are related gaits. Asking the horse to gallop from a canter, means a rider is asking the horse to lengthen its stride. When the stride is sufficiently lengthened, the diagonal pair of legs that normally hit the ground together during the canter, will split up and hit the grown separately, resulting in a four-beat gait. This is a horses fastest gait.
How fast can a horse run?
“Thoroughbred Winning Brew holds the Guinness world record for the fastest speed from the starting gate for a Thoroughbred racehorse, at 77.6 km/h (43.97 mph) over two furlongs, although Quarter Horses attain higher speeds over shorter distances than Thoroughbreds.” https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/fastest-horse-racing-time-over-5-furlongs
Secretariat was the fastest Triple Crown Winner at 37.7 miles per hour. He was the first Triple Crown Winner since 1948.
Photo credit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_(horse)#/media/File:Secretariat_at_stud.jpg
Fun Fact is that Secretariat’s heart was larger than most race horses and his stride was 24′ long.
Photo credit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_(horse)#/media/File:1973_Kentucky_Derby_Secretariat.jpg
Quarter Horses are the fastest horses!
“The fastest galloping speed is achieved by the American Quarter Horse, which is a short sprint of a quarter mile (0.40 km) or less has been clocked at speeds approaching 55 miles per hour (88.5 km/h).” ‘https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canter_and_gallop