Understanding the Different Gaits of Gaited Horse Breeds

Gaited horses have been increasing in popularity over the last 20 years in the United States, particularly among trail riding enthusiasts.  Gaited horses have gained popularity for their generally willing and laid-back temperaments, versatility, and, of course, the smooth and comfortable ride that they provide.  There are several breeds of gaited horses, with each breed performing a unique, smooth gait.  While many of these horses can also trot (although undesirable in most situations) and canter, they have been selectively bred for years to hone in on their breed-specific gait.  While there are many breeds of gaited horses, this article will focus particularly on the particular gaits unique to the Tennessee Walking Horse, Spotted Saddle Horse, Racking Horse, Paso Fino, Peruvian Horse, Missouri Fox Trotter, Icelandic Horse, and Rocky Mountain Horse.

Tennessee Walking Horse

The Tennessee Walking Horse is a light horse breed founded in middle Tennessee and is a composition of Narragansett and Candadian Pacer, Standardbred, Thoroughbred, Morgan, and American Saddlebred stock.  Originally bred as a utility horse, the breed easily adapts to english and western gear, and its calm, docile temperament combined with naturally smooth and easy gaits insure the popularity of the Tennessee Walking Horse as the "world's greatest show, trail, and pleasure horse."

The Running Walk is the gait for which the walking horse is most noted. This extra-smooth, gliding gait is a bold four beat step with each foot leaving and striking the ground separately at regular intervals.  The pattern for this step is left hind foot, left front foot, right hind foot, right front foot, creating a square four beat step. The forelegs should move straight, breaking at the knees and reaching forward.  The motion of the hind foot moving over the front track creates overstride.  The rear legs should follow through close to the ground in a comfortable overstriding step.  In the flat walk the horse should have a vertical head nod from the withers, nodding up and down where the neck and head moves, not just the head.  The horse should carry his neck higher than his topline, but not so high that there is straining or hollowing out in the back.  Proper form should never be sacrificed for excessive speed in a good running walk. The breed can travel 10 to 20 miles per hour at this gait. As the speed is increased, the horse over-steps the front track with the back by a distance of six to eighteen inches. The more "stride" the horse has, the better "walker" it is considered to be. It is this motion that gives the rider a feeling of gliding through the air as if propelled by some powerful but smooth-running machine. The running walk is a smooth, easy gait for both horse and rider. A true Tennessee Walking Horse will continue to nod while performing the running walk.

Information from www.twhbea.com and www.walkinghorseowners.com

Racking Horse

Since the time America began, the Racking Horse has been legendary for its beauty, stamina and calm disposition, this noble animal’s popularity grew strong on the great southern plantations before the Civil War. It was learned that the horse could be ridden comfortably for hours because of its smooth, natural gait.

The racking horse should exhibit a true four beat gait with an effortlessness of motion and quality of gait should not be sacrificed for speed.  In the rack, each foot should be the on ground separately.  The rack has also been called the "singlefoot" gait for this reason.  While the footfall pattern of the rack is the same as that of the running walk, this horse will not nod its head.  This gait will be a very smooth gait with quicker strides than the running walk.  The horse should move with a long stride and the hocks should move with horizontal action, while the front legs will show elevation.

Information from www.rackinghorse.org

Spotted Saddle Horse

A Spotted Saddle Horse is simply a smooth gaited horse with paint or pinto coloration, and many time these horses may be double registered (or even triple registered) with other gaited breed registries.  The Spotted Saddle Horse should exhibit a true four beat gait with an effortlessness of motion.  The horse will be of the walking type or racking type.  As such, the gait performed is referred to as the "show gait" and is defined as a smooth easy gait with a smooth back end, with the horse under control and the head set.  The back end should be smooth and the exhibitor should exhibit an easy, comfortable ride.  

Information from www.sshbea.org

Paso Fino

The Paso Fino's journey to the Americas began more than 500 years ago with the importation of Andalusians, Spanish Barbs from North Africa, and smooth-gaited Spanish Jennets from Spain by the Spanish Conquistadors.  They were bred for their stamina, smooth gait, and beauty and served as the foundation stock for remount stallions of the Conquistadors.  The Paso Fino resulted from centuries of selective breeding by those who colonized the Caribbean and Latin America and first flourished in Puerto Rico and Colombia.  The Paso Fino is adorned with the title "Smoothest Riding Horse in the World."

The Paso Fino is born with a gait unique to the breed that is smooth, rhythmic, purposeful, strait, balanced in flexion, and synchronous front to rear, using all four legs with precision and harmony.  It is an evenly spaced four beat lateral gait with each foot striking the ground independently in a regular sequence creating a rapid, unbroken rhythm. The Paso Fino gait is performed at three forward speeds with varying degrees of collection.  In all speeds of the gait, the rider should appear virtually motionless in the saddle and there should be no perceptible up and down motion of the horse's croup.  The Classic Fino is done in full collection with very slow forward speed.  The footfall is extremely rapid while the steps and extension are exceedingly short.  The Paso Corto exhibits moderate forward speed with full to moderate collection where the steps are ground-covering, but unhurried.  The Paso Largo is the fastest speed of the gait, executed with a longer extension and stride, and moderate to minimal collection.

Information from www.pfha.org

Peruvian Horse

Although the Peruvian Horse shares some  common ancestors in the Old World breeds with the Paso Fino, the horses that gave rise to each breed came to the Americas with different groups of settlers and were generated in separate environments for separate purposes.  The Peruvian Horse was born entirely within the borders of Peru.

The Peruvian Horse exhibits basically the same smooth four beat gait as the Paso Fino, although it is executed differently.  The Peruvian Horse has been bred for a longer stride that was essential in Peru for travelling long distances.  The Peruvian Horse has a distinct feature to it's gait called termino.  The horse will perform a Paso Llano and an extended version called sobreandando.  Termino is an outward swinging action of the forelegs and originates from the shoulder.

Information from www.uspha.net and www.napha.net

Missouri Fox Trotter

As people began to migrate west from the hills and plantations of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia towards the Ozarks in Missouri, they brought with them their best saddle stock, largely consisting of Morgans, Arabians, and plantation horses from the deep south.  Later American Saddlebred, Tennessee Walking Horse, and Standardbred blood was added to the stock, resulting in a horse who was extremely sure-footed and easy-travelling with a pleasing appearance and disposition.  The Missouri Fox Trotting Horse quickly became a favorite among country doctors, sheriffs, and stock raisers.

The distinct gait of the Missouri Foxtrotting Horse is the fox trot, a broken diagonal gait with a distinctive rhythm that is created by the horse moving its front foot a split second before the opposite rear.  A horse that is fox trotting correctly will never have more than two feet off of the ground at any given time.  The horse is basically walking with the front legs and trotting with the hind legs.  The exceptional rhythm of the fox trotting horse begins at the tip of the nose with a characteristic head shake (different from the head nod of the running walk) and continues back through the ripple of the tail.

Information from www.mfthba.com

Icelandic Horse

The Icelandic Horse has a thousand year old history.  Purebred since the 10th century, this horse is renowned for being hardy, athletic, independent, spirited, friendly, adoaptable, and sure-footed.  This horse averages between 13-14 hands tall and was bred to carry adults at a fast, pleasing gait over long distances.  It is distinctive for its thick and long mane and tail.

The Icelandic Horse can perform five gaits:  walk, trot, canter. tolt, and flying pace.  The tolt is a very smooth four beat gait which is very smooth and has a footfall pattern similar to the rack.  The flying pace is a two beat lateral gait performed at very fast speeds that can equal the speed of a full gallop and is used in Iceland for racing.

Information from www.icelandics.org

Rocky Mountain Horse

This breed originated in the US in the late 1800s in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky.  The people living in this region wanted a horse that would be a wonderful utility horse that was sure-footed, easy-gaited, and extremely versatile.  The breed gets its name from a gaited colt that was brought from the Rocky Mountain region of the US to the Appalachian mountain region and is credited for the start of the breed, as well as the breed's distinctive color (chocolate with a flaxen mane and tail).

The Rocky Mountain Horse naturally demonstrates a smooth ambling gait that glides forward.  The horse moves out with a lateral four beat gait that produces a cadence of near equal rhythm.  The speed may vary as long as the four beat rhythm remains consistent.  The length of stride of the fore and hind legs should be nearly equal with little to no head nodding or motion.  The gait should be efficient and not waste motion, allowing for the horse to travel for long distances efficiently.

Information from www.rmhorse.com