Horses have beautiful movement! But not all horses get enjoyment out of the all too famous gallop. There are 4 common gaits, the walk, trot, canter, and gallop. The slowest gait is the walk, which is a four beat gait. A four beat gait means that each foot moves one at a time, and you can count four beats before the pattern starts over. When walking, the horse picks up a hind leg, then the front leg right in front of it, then the opposite hind, then the front right in front of it. So for example, left hind, left front, right hind, right front. The next fastest gait it the trot. The trot is a two beat gait, where the two diagonal legs move together. So for example, left hind and right front together, then right hind and left front together. The canter is a three beat gait. The horse can change their "leads" to move in a direction more easily. If you needed to turn left at the canter, you would ask for the left lead. In this lead, the feet move in this pattern: Right hind, left hind and right front together, then left front. If you need to turn your horse right at the canter, you would ask for the right lead. In the right lead, the horse's feet move in this pattern: Left hind, right hind and left front together, then right front. The gallop is the fastest gait, but it is a four beat gait, just like the walk. In the gallop, there are leads too. On the right lead, the horse's feet move in this pattern: Left hind, right hind, left front, right front. On the left lead, the pattern is right hind, left hind, right front, left front. These are just the most common gaits most horses have, but some horses are "gaited" which means they have spacial gaits that most horses don't have. And regular gaits can be extended and collected. But I won't get in to those, because this paragraph is long enough! I hope you understand this, let me know if you don't get it!
