What is a three-cross gait? What is gait? Gaits: basic theory
Gaits called types of horse movement, which differ in mechanics and speed. They can be abbreviated (shortened), regular (loose) and extended (extended).
Gait- type of forward movement of the horse. Distinguish natural gaits(they are characteristic of any animal in natural conditions) and artificial(require special training). The first include walk, trot, gallop; to the second, for example, passage, spanish step, piaffe and etc. Amble- a rather rare natural gait of some horses, but it can be developed artificially.
The most indicative sign of a shortened stroke is that the horse does not reach the track of the front leg with its hind leg, it does not cover the track. With an extended gait, the trail is correspondingly blocked. All gaits can be performed with different stride lengths and frequency, high (steep) or low (flat) stride. The speed of movement increases mainly due to an increase in step length and, to a lesser extent, its frequency. A high stroke is ineffective and leads to fatigue faster than a low stroke.
A horse's gaits can be regular (clear) or irregular (with irregular rhythm and tempo). Through training, you can develop an optimal smooth rhythm of movements with the desired ratio of step length and frequency, a certain stride height, at which the animal is most efficient.
NATURAL GAIT
Natural gaits are so named because horses move independently in a similar way, living in a herd in natural habitats. They do not require special training and can be performed by any animal.
Under natural conditions, the trot is the shortest gait of a horse.
Step
The slowest calm gait. The horse brings its legs forward one by one, sequentially hitting the ground four times: right hind, right front, left hind, left front. When moving at a walk, the animal tires little and exhibits the greatest traction force. The average walking speed is 1.5–2 m/s, or 4–7 km/h (less for heavy draft horses, more for light riding horses). A very fast type of step with a wide, sharp extension of the legs in some horse breeds (Icelandic) is called thelt. Another type of small, hasty step is called paso fino.
Lynx
A two-beat gait, faster than a walk, in which the horse alternates pairs of legs located diagonally. In natural conditions, the trot is usually the shortest gait. When used by humans (on hikes, in competitions), a calm, uniform, sweeping trot is the most energy-saving gait, convenient for moving long distances. The speed of movement at this gait for most horses is within 10–20 km/h, and in competitions for prize trotters it can reach 50 km/h and even higher.
Frame- the speculative distance between two vertical straight lines passing vertically downwards from the corner of its mouth and the base of the tail as the horse moves. Serves to assess the quality of movement.
In order of increasing speed, the following are distinguished: lynx species: trot, swing, swing and frisky trot. A type of shallow shaking trot is tropota - an irregular gait that is quite tiring for the rider and the horse itself.
Gallop
A three-beat galloping gait with a free-hanging phase, the fastest of the existing ones and quite tiring for the horse. Depending on the maximum extension of the front leg, a gallop is distinguished from the right and from the left leg, which is especially important to consider when moving in a small circle, when you need to walk from the inside leg so as not to overwhelm the horse. An unstable canter on the wrong foot is called a counter canter.
At races, thoroughbred riding horses are able to reach quarry speeds faster than a kilometer per minute
Ascending speed gallop is divided into arena, kenter (field shortened), swing and frisky (quarry). The higher the speed of a horse at a gallop, the higher the inertia, the longer the stage of free suspension, and the trail of the hind legs overlaps the trail of the front legs. Depending on the breed and training of the horse, as well as the racing conditions, gallop speed can vary widely - from 15 to 60 km/h and even higher.
Amble
A two-beat gait, a type of trot and walk, in which first two right and then two left legs are carried out simultaneously. Natural ambling is a very comfortable gait for the rider over long distances, with a slight lateral sway. At a fast gait, troubles can arise only on very uneven ground and sharp turns, when there is a danger of the animal collapsing. The stride length during ambling is shorter than during trotting, and the frequency is higher.
ARTIFICIAL GAITLES
Artificial gaits are not found in animals under natural conditions. They were developed under human guidance for special competitions or shows, often spectacular, but difficult for the horse and require special training. Many artificial movements are now excluded from the competition program and are demonstrated only in the circus or during some kind of demonstration performances.
Passage
An abbreviated shortened trot with a slight extension of the legs forward, in which the front legs slowly and beautifully rise upward, and the hind legs are strongly brought under the body.
Some horses have a natural ability to move into a free-running passage.
Piaffe
The passage is in place.
Spanish Walk and Spanish Trot
These are gaits in which the horse raises his straightened front legs very high, parallel to the ground, and walks with his hind legs as usual.
Gallop on three legs
A gallop in which one of the front legs is constantly extended forward and does not touch the ground.
Gallop backwards
Actually gallop backwards.
Each element of dressage has its own name and degree of difficulty, and is assessed on a ten-point scale.
At step An animal, as a rule, at any given time has three legs resting on the ground and only one is rearranged.
- slow, collected, shortened, or manege
- medium, ordinary, or kenter
- fast, frisky, added, field, or quarry.
When a horse gallops, it is usually said that it jumps. “Runs at a gallop” - this is what they say only in a figurative sense about a messenger or courier in the meaning "run as soon as possible" .
At jump the horse pushes off the ground with its hind legs, flies over an obstacle and lands first on its front legs and then on its hind legs.
Hoda or Tölt(Il. Tölt) - natural gait of Icelandic horses, it looks like a very fast step with a wide thrust of the hind legs forward; something between a walk and a trot.
The Tölt is not inferior to the lynx in speed. Depending on the degree of training of the horse, the speed of movement of the tölt can vary freely from a walk to a gallop, but in terms of the sequence of rearrangement of the legs, the tölt is comparable to a walk. There is no jerk phase or hovering phase. The result is fast, but not at all shaking movement.
The tendency to tölt is genetically determined and was originally present in all European horses. Its absence in the modern European horse is the result of historical man-made changes and the subsequent long-term, extremely strict selection, which, depending on the breed, continues no less harshly in our days. The appearance of even a weakly expressed tölt in a horse for whose breed it is not desirable leads to inevitable rejection from the breeding process.
Paso Fino- the natural gait of horses of the same breed is a small, quick step, in which the horse quickly moves its legs.
Natural gaits also include shlapak (path)- a gait that is a cross between a trot and a gallop. Shlapak is considered the “wrong” gait, as it is inconvenient when riding and tires the horse. Usually they try to retrain such a horse - to put it on a clean trot and gallop.
A moving horse cannot be said to be rides [ ] . The horse rides only when it is in a horse carriage. In other cases he coming, runs, trots, jumps, gallops, jumps, slaps (tropotits) or simply moves.
Different regions of Russia and among the Russian-speaking population of other countries may have their own designations (synonyms) for the main natural gaits.
Artificial gaits
Passage- a very quiet trot, with a slight extension of the legs forward, in which the front legs slowly and beautifully rise upward, and the hind legs are strongly brought under the body.
Piaffe- passage in one place.
Spanish step- a step with the horse moving forward parallel to the ground with an extended front leg.
Spanish lynx- trot with the horse moving the outstretched front leg forward parallel to the ground.
Gallop on three legs- a gallop in which one of the front legs is constantly extended forward and does not touch the ground.
Gallop backwards- this is, accordingly, a backward gallop.
Artificial gaits in horses are developed under the influence of centuries-old traditions of demonstrating the art of horsemanship - the interaction between horse and rider - and the beauty of the horse's movements. Passage and piaffe are demonstrated as part of competitions
Gait is the type of gait of a horse. What types of horse gaits are there? Walk, trot, amble and gallop. It is also worth noting that gaits are divided into natural and artificial types.
Natural gait is the gait of a horse, developed from birth, laid down by nature. These types of natural gaits include walk, trot, amble and gallop.
An artificial gait is an artificial gait of a horse that a person has taught it to do. Artificial gaits include passage, piaffe, Spanish walk, Spanish trot, three-legged canter and backward canter. It should also be noted that some of the horses have developed some artificial gaits from birth; this is due to the centuries-old traditions of horse riding demonstrations.
STEP
The walk is the slowest type of gait; the average speed of a normal walk is 2 m/s or 7 km/h.
Horses usually move at this pace when they are calmly grazing in a meadow, when it is dirty and slippery, and this gait is also characteristic of the “heavy-duty” breed - this is a massive horse, from which the expression “workhorse” comes.
LYNX
LYNX The trot is a gait in which pairs of legs are alternately rearranged; with a good trot gait, you can feel the moment when all the horse’s legs are in the air, creating a fleeting effect of hovering in the air, as if you are flying above the ground at a low altitude. A good trotting speed is considered to be 10 m/s or 36 km/h.
This gait is inherent in specially bred breeds of “trotter” horses; they are capable of trotting for a long time without getting tired and without changing to another gait.
AMBLE
AMBLE Ambling is the walking and running of a horse, inherent in nature from birth. The principle of ambling is as follows: two legs of one side are raised at the same time, then two legs of the other side of the horse, or the right hind and right front legs are carried out, then the left hind and left front legs. When running this way, if you look closely, the horse sways slightly from side to side. This is a very beautiful sight; if you see the ambling gait, you will certainly appreciate all its beauty. The average ambling speed is 3 m/s or 10-11 km/h.
GALLOP
GALLOP Gallop is the fastest running gait and is called the three-beat gait of a horse. It is called three-beat because the horse’s legs move in the following sequence: the right hind leg rests on the ground, then at the second pace the left hind and right front legs also rest on the ground, after which at the third pace only the front left leg rests on the ground. The result is a strong jerk of the horse's legs and the sounds heard from the impacts of the hooves sound three-beat. The average gallop speed is 15 m/s or 54 km/h.
The slowest is the walk, when the horse simply moves its legs one at a time. The movement begins with a push from the hind leg, and further changes of legs occur diagonally. With the correct step, the hind hooves step on the tracks of the front hooves, and the speed reaches 6-7 km/h. If you increase the speed, the horse will begin to trot, moving two legs diagonally at once.
There are several types of trot: trot (shortened trot), field trot (normal), in which there is a phase of movement without support, and sweeping. The short trot is the slowest. Moving with it, the horse can reach a speed of no more than 15 km/h. Normal - about 20 km/h. A sweeping trot allows you to reach speeds of up to 50 km/h. In this case, the horse places his hind legs in front of his front tracks. Specially trained trotters can overtake other horses at a gallop at a sweeping trot.
Galloping is long jumps. The horse pushes off with both hind legs, flies through the air and lands on its front legs. It is also called a three-tempo gait. Gallop speed reaches 60 km/h. But the fastest gait is considered to be the quarry. This is a type of gallop in which the horse moves in leaps, barely touching the ground. Usually the animal moves in the quarry no more than 2-3 kilometers, and then begins to get tired. If you don't watch this, you can drive the horse to death. From the name of this type of gait came the common expression - right off the bat.
There is another, unusual, type of natural gait - ambling. It is rare in nature, and a horse that can move it is considered “gifted” and is called a pacer. But ambling can also be taught. Moving with it, the horse moves its legs first on one side, then on the other. Ambling is faster than a trot, but slower than a gallop. Pacers are very convenient for moving long distances on flat terrain. They ride very smoothly and hardly shake the rider. A natural pacer can move for many hours without getting tired, and cover a distance of up to 120 kilometers in a day. But this type of gait also has disadvantages. The horse does not maneuver well and can easily trip and fall. In addition, pacers cannot carry large loads or pull carts.
In addition to natural gaits, there are artificial ones: parade step, passage, piaffe and pirouette. The parade walk is also called the Spanish trot. Moving with it, the horse raises its legs high and puts them forward. The passage is a shortened, collected trot. And piaffe is the same as passage, only in one place. During a pirouette, the horse's hind legs stand still while the front legs move in a full circle. Artificial gaits of horses are usually taught in the circus, army and at hippodromes.
Under natural conditions, a horse moves in four main ways (gaits): walking, trotting, ambling and galloping. Ambling is considered a rare and not natural, but most often acquired gait.
During the movement, there is an alternation of phases of suspension, repulsion and work of the limbs while suspended.
The number of times the hooves hit the ground in one run is called the pace. Depending on the number of tempos, two, three and four tempo gaits are distinguished. Another characteristic is the length of the step - this is the distance between the limbs of one side. The frequency of this very step is measured by the number of steps per minute.
According to the speed of movement of a horse, gaits are divided into slow (step and walk) and fast (trot, trot and amble). There is also another division into natural and artificial gaits. Natural gaits are those that are natural to a horse, such as walk, walk, trot, amble and gallop. Artificial ones are those that are developed in an animal by a person on the basis of reflexes. These methods of movement include the Spanish walk and trot, piaffe, passage, pirouettes, courbette, capriole, etc. (mainly used in dressage).
Any gait can be “expanded” according to the following scheme: collected, medium, extended and free.
The walk is the slowest gait in which there is no hanging phase. done at 4 paces (the number of hooves hitting the ground to move the whole body one step forward) with two or three hoofs supported.
The horse lifts and carries forward his right front leg, and when he lowers it, the back left leg goes up and forward. This movement of the legs is called diagonal: first the right front, followed by the left back, then the left front and finally the right back. At the same time, four successive impacts of the hooves on the ground are clearly audible. On average, with this movement, a horse travels 5 kilometers per hour.
With a collected step, the horse walks collectedly, lifts its legs higher and more clearly. Collection is considered to be a state when the horse is ready, with the correct light impulse, to move into any gait, even a gallop, or one of those that exist in dressage. With a short stride, the horse walks quietly, freely (for this reason, a short stride can be free), the reins hang, the horse is free to hold his head as he pleases (most often, the neck is extended parallel to the ground). The extended stride is the fastest, and the rider's hand must maintain firm contact with the horse's mouth. It is common practice to let the horse walk at a leisurely pace at the end of training so that he can relax, dry out and rest before returning to the stable.
The walk is a very important gait; it is with this that training begins to allow the horse to warm up a little, and it is also used to finish so that the muscles gradually release tension. Also, at first, when the horse has just been broken up, the basis of its training is the walk, and all training is carried out at the walk.
Trot is a fast gait at two paces. The horse simultaneously raises the right front and left hind legs, then the left front and right hind. The movement of the hind and front legs occurs diagonally.
When racing, trotters reach a speed of about 55 km. at one o'clock. This is world record speed. On average, 45 - 48 km/h here and 50 in the USA, where the tracks differ in their “structure”. Dressage uses a standing trot - piaffe - and a high, strongly collected trot - passage. The passage is a beautiful sight, the horse seems to float in the air, clearly moving its hooves and recording each lift of the diagonal pairs of legs.
Gallop is the fastest galloping gait at three paces. If at a walk, trot or amble the load on all the horse’s legs is distributed more or less evenly, then at a gallop the load depends on whether this gait was started on the right or left leg. Depending on this, they distinguish between a gallop from the left leg and a gallop from the right leg. When a horse gallops from the left leg, it first leans on the right front leg, then places the left hind and right front on the ground, and after the right hind leaves the ground, the left front. When changing legs, when the right front leg is leading, then everything happens the other way around. With an increased gallop, there is a fourth phase - suspension.
As the speed increases, the gallop is divided into: dressage gallop, canter (shortened field gallop), field gallop and quarry.
Thoroughbred horses galloping at races reach speeds of over 60 km. at one o'clock. When galloping, the speed may be slower than at a trot. A gallop in which all phases are clearly defined even at a slow speed is considered correct. Previously, in the higher riding school there was a canter on the spot.
Ambling is a fast gait, also at two tempos, but the simultaneous movement of the front and rear legs does not occur diagonally: when the right front and right hind are in the air, the left front and left hind are on the ground, then the right legs are on the ground, and the left legs are in the air .
Ambling is slightly faster than trotting. Horses that amble are called pacers. This is an innate ability. At an amble, the rider gets less tired: there are no such noticeable jolts as at a trot. But ambling is less stable. On sharp turns and uneven roads, pacers may lose their balance.
There are horses that successfully run at both trot and amble - it’s all about shoeing. If you clear the forehands more and the front shoes are lighter than the back ones, then the horse will amble, and if the front toes are grown and the front shoes are heavier than the back ones, then the horse will trot.
There are very few natural-born pacers; the story of one of them was described in his story “Mustang the Pacer” by Seton Thompson. Many pacers are specially retrained to trot for greater stability; however, there are special races where pacers participate, who show higher agility than trotters. In the USA, approximately 70% of races are carried out on pacers and only about 30% on trotters. Pacers run faster than trotters.