Hello again. Now that we have looked at the physical characteristics of the normal horse, let's take a look at how the horse moves. Even if you do not ride there is no question that the powerful and graceful movement of the horse is one of those things that draws us to them. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to describe how the horse moves and identify the various gaits of the horse. The normal horses' feet and legs move in a characteristic rhythmic pattern at various speeds. As we discussed in previous lessons, the horse's status is a prey animal, means he must be able to react quickly, and move fast in an agile and effective manner to ensure survival. Recognizing the difference between normal and abnormal gives us an indication of a health problem, which may result from either pain, injury, or infection. Horsemen and horsewomen use the gait to describe the characteristic foot placement and leg motions of the different speeds of movement. Some gaits are natural to all horses, some gaits are peculiar to certain breeds, and some gaits are acquired through training. Gaits are described as a number of beats, you can count the beat as the foot or feet hit the ground. The word stride refers to one cycle of beats. This will make more sense as we watch videos of horses moving through the gaits, especially in slow motion. No matter what the gait, the movement should always appear balanced, symmetrical, and springy. A horse should not drag the toe or obviously place less weight on one foot or another. The natural gaits, those performed by natural impulse and without training include the walk, the trot, and the gallop. The acquired gaits, those that are the result of specific training and practice include the canter, jog, lope, rack, running walk, foxtrot, amble, and stepping pace. Let's first look at the walk. The walk is a slow flat-footed, 4 beat gait. The term 4 beat gait means each foot takes off from the ground and lands on the ground at a separate interval, independent of the other hooves. For the walk, there will be one foot off the ground taking the step, while the other three feet will be a triangular base of support contacting the ground. The repeating pattern we noticed at walk is right front, left rear, left front and right rear. Some breeds will show more action of the limb than others at the walk. For example, the quarter horse has a very relaxed motion, while the American Saddle bred horse has a dramatic flexing of the knee. The next natural gait is the trot, which is a rapid two beat diagonal gait. This means the front foot on one side and the opposite hind foot take off at the same time and strike the ground at the same time. All four feet are off the ground for a brief moment in time. The weight of the horse is distributed alternately by each diagonal pair, thus creating the two beats. The trot should be a balanced straightforward square movement. If the horse is lame, it may not show at the walk or canter, but it is often obvious at the trot. You will hear riders talking about right and left lead. This refers to which front leg is the independent part of the stride. This forelimb is usually on the inside of the direction of the circle a rider is going. For example, if a rider is riding to the right, clockwise, the right forelimb will lead, and it is called the right lead. True gallop is the third natural gait, and is a fast 4 beat gait where only one foot makes contact at a time. For purposes of this example, we'll assume our horse is traveling to the left. We will call his left front and left hind, the inside limbs, and the right front and the right hind, the outside limbs. Next we'll talk about the canter because it is a common gait in our domesticated horses. It looks like a slow gallop, but is actually a three beat gait. It is a slower, more restrained gait than the gallop. A first beat is made when one hind foot strikes the ground. Then the opposite hind and diagonal forefoot strike the ground, creating the second beat. Finally, the remaining front foot strikes the ground. This lead forelimb bears the heaviest burden of concussion. Therefore, riders must take care to exercise their horses in both directions, utilizing the correct lead limb in each direction. In this course, we won't go into detail on the other acquired gaits, but you should be aware of the common terms jog and lope. These labels refer to the widely accepted slower trot and canter that the Western style trained horses regularly perform. However, you should be aware that there are some practices that are used to manipulate the movements of the show horse which can result in negative health consequences. These include, soring, heavy shoes, chains above the hoof, and head tying. Some of these practices are frequently reviewed, discouraged, and modified by breed associations, veterinarian associations, and animal welfare professionals as advocates of the horse. In our next lesson, we'll look at that all important part of the horse, his hoof. You've heard the expression, no hoof, no horse, and in our next lesson we'll find out why. See you later.
