The Natural Gaits
Walk: This is the slowest and steadiest gait, with the horse keeping two or three hooves on the ground at all times. If you hear a horse walking, you should hear four distinct footfalls. As a result, this is called a four-beat gait as there are four beats in every full sequence. It can start with any leg the horse chooses, but assuming it starts with the right hind leg, the order is: (1) right hind, (2) right fore, (3) left hind, (4) left fore. The order refers to when the hoof hits the ground.
Trot: During the trot, the horse is suspended in the air for a moment in each stride. The horse springs up in the air, with the foreleg on one side and the hindleg on the other moving together. The legs move in diagonal pairs. The other two hooves hit the ground when the horse lands. This then , is a two-beat gait, as there are only two beats in a sequence: (1) the right fore and left hind hooves hit the ground, (2) the left fore and right hind hooves hit the ground. While it is a faster gait than the walk, it still converves energy for the horse. If you're riding English on a trotting horse, it's best for you to rise up on one beat of the trot, then lower yourself down on the next. This is called posting. It helps you to absorb the horse's bouncing, and your horse will be so grateful! In Western riding, the trot is often slowed down and smoother, and is called a jog.
Canter: This three-beat gait is faster than a trot. The horse spends time suspended in the air in this gait, but only at the end of the sequence. A canter starts with a hind hoof hitting the ground. If it's the left hind hoof, it's called a right-lead canter as the right foreleg will be the most extended of the horse's forelegs. There are three beats to this stride, because two of the horse's diagonal legs hit the ground at the same time. For a right-lead canter, the hooves hit the ground in this order: (1) left hind, (2) right hind and left fore, (3) right fore. A left-lead canter starts with the right hind hoof hitting, then the left hind and right fore hit together, followed by the left foreleg. In a canter, there is a pause between the third beat of one sequence and the first beat of the next, because that's when the horse is in the air. In Western riding, the canter is often scaled-down and called a lope.
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Gallop: The gallop is the fastest of the natural gaits, and, like the walk, it's a four-beat movement. The gallop feels just like a fast canter, because the only real difference is that rather than two diagonal legs hitting together, the hind hoof on the diagonal hits the ground a split second before the forefoot. Once again, a gallop is either left-lead or right-lead, depending on which hoof hits the ground first. Even though this is a four-beat gait, it doesn't sound like a walk because the beats aren't evenly spaced. For a right-lead gallop, the sequence is: (1) left hind, (2) right hind, (3) left fore, (4) right fore. Beats two and three are in rapid succession, and there is a pause between four and one, because that's when the horse is in the air.
