In this gait, the horse moves its legs in unison in diagonal pairs. The North American speed record for a racing trot under saddle was measured at 48.68 kilometres per hour (30.25 mph) An extremely fast trot has no special name, but in harness racing, the trot of a Standardbred is faster than the gallop of the average non- racehorse. A very slow trot is sometimes referred to as a jog. The trot is a two-beat gait that has a wide variation in possible speeds and averages about 13 kilometres per hour (8.1 mph). The two legs with white stockings are off the ground. Trot The trot, a two-beat gait involving diagonal pairs of legs. If a horse begins to speed up and lose a regular four-beat cadence to its gait, the horse is no longer walking but is beginning to either trot or pace. The fastest "walks" with a four-beat footfall pattern are actually the lateral forms of ambling gaits such as the running walk, singlefoot, and similar rapid but smooth intermediate speed gaits. However, a rider will almost always feel some degree of gentle side-to-side motion in the horse's hips as each hind leg reaches forward. Individual horses and different breeds vary in the smoothness of their walk. The more the rear hoof oversteps, the smoother and more comfortable the walk becomes. Ideally, the advancing rear hoof oversteps the spot where the previously advancing front hoof touched the ground. Then it lifts its left hind leg (diagonal support), puts down the right front (lateral support), lifts the left front, puts down the left hind, and the pattern repeats. Next, the left front foot touches the ground (the horse is now supported by all but the right hind leg) then the horse lifts its right front leg (it is now supported laterally on both left legs), and shortly afterwards it sets down the right hind leg (only the right front leg is now lifted). It then lifts its right hind leg (while being supported by the diagonal pair right front and left hind). In detail, a horse starts a walk by lifting its left front leg (the other three feet are touching the ground). A horse moves its head and neck in a slight up and down motion that helps maintain balance. At the walk, the horse will alternate between having three or two feet on the ground. When walking, a horse's legs follow this sequence: left hind leg, left front leg, right hind leg, right front leg, in a regular 1-2-3-4 beat. The walk is a four-beat gait that averages about 7 kilometres per hour (4.3 mph). Horses who possess an ambling gait are usually also able to trot. In some animals the trot is replaced by the pace or an ambling gait. While other intermediate speed gaits may occur naturally to some horses, these four basic gaits occur in nature across almost all horse breeds. All four gaits are seen in wild horse populations. Some consider these as three gaits, with the canter a variation of the gallop. The so-called "natural" gaits, in increasing order of speed, are the walk, trot, canter, and gallop. The British Horse Society equitation examinations also require proficiency in the gallop as distinct from the canter. The British Horse Society dressage rules require competitors to perform four variations of the walk, six forms of the trot, five leaping gaits (all forms of the canter), halt, and rein back, but not the gallop. Īnother system of classification that applies to quadrupeds uses three categories: walking and ambling gaits, running or trotting gaits, and leaping gaits. Special training is often required before a horse will perform an ambling gait in response to a rider's command. Gaits are typically categorized into two groups: the "natural" gaits that most horses will use without special training, and the " ambling" gaits that are various smooth-riding, four-beat footfall patterns that may appear naturally in some individuals.
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