A horse is a beautiful animal in which outer beauty, grace and inner spirit are wonderfully combined. Since childhood, we have been reading out novels in which fearless knights on horseback perform feats, glorifying their beloved women. And what you need to sit in the saddle? How to feel the feeling of flight, and hear a clear rhythm in the hoof overtime and the heartbeat? It is best to get riding skills from professionals, but you can get some theoretical knowledge yourself. For example, learn to determine how to run a horse. Many are interested in the question – how do horses run? The type of running of this animal is called a gait, which in French means “method of movement”. So, how does a horse run?

Horse step

A horse, like a man, if nothing drives it, moves in steps. This type of gait is completely natural and preferable for heavy trucks, for which carrying capacity is more important than speed. Other breeds are walking faster. A pitch is a four-stroke type of horse movement, which involves alternating rearrangement of limbs, starting with one of the hind legs. It has no jump phase when none of the horse’s legs rest on the ground. In this step there are several types:

• short (collected) – hind legs go quite far behind the front;
• middle – traces of hind legs practically overlap traces of fore;
• added (wide) is a horse step in which the hind hooves intercede with the front tracks, which indicates the plasticity and good fitness of the horse.

The main modes of movement of horses

In order to confidently sit in the saddle, every horseman needs to know all kinds of horse racing. After all, it is right adapting to them, the rider is most confidently mounted. From the correct fit and movement depends on the balance and ease of management.

Trotting

This is the average speed of a horse. Many novice riders talk about it, as the most difficult to ride. This is due to the appearance of a “hang-up phase” during movement, and the rider feels the jolts of hooves on the ground. To ride with this method of running a horse was comfortable, in the saddle you need to move in time with the movements of the animal. This is a push-pull run. When the horses run in this way they rearrange the legs in pairs and diagonally (when walking in parallel – in parallel). In other words, the left front and right back, and then the right front and left back (at the amble, the animal alternately rearranges the right front and right hind legs, and then the same – on the left). Between the rearrangements of pairs of legs and there is the same hang. Therefore, with the first push, you need to stand up in the saddle, and with the next one, you need to sink into it, and so – all the time. This gait is collected, average, added and working.
The principles are the same as in the first method of movement. There are such concepts as training and facilitated trot, but they do not refer to the animal itself, but to the landing of the rider. Training – this is when he sits tight saddle, lightweight – rises during the hang phase. In professional equestrian sports, the slow trot is called the trot, and the fast trot is called spanning. Professionals also distinguish max and trotting prize. Trotting is a faster gait than step. In this case, there is a phase of unsupported movement and two ungulate diagonal support. If a horse runs a trot of natural origin, he will quickly switch to another type of gait, since this type of movement is short-lived. But race horses are trained specifically, and their natural trotting turns into several independent types of gait:

• A trot that is a subspecies of trot with shortened steps. A quiet trot may not have a supportless phase. It is noticed that long-legged animals are not able to perform a quiet trot, but an accelerated or free trot is available to them. Allure speed from 16 to 20 km / h.
• The swing is trotting with a long stride, at an unhurried and measured pace.
• The swing and trotting trot is a subspecies of the gait, producing in the horse sweeping and freedom of movement. The speed with such a run increases significantly, and the hoof of the hind leg leaves a mark, significantly protruding from the imprint of the front hoof.

The maximum speed of trotting can reach 30 km / h, but these figures are not available for every horse, and not for every rider. Trotting is rightfully one of the most difficult gaits.

Difference between horse trotting and gallop

If you are interested in this topic, it means either you love horses or study them. In any case, it will be useful to know that there are four gaits (that is, ways to move the horse): step, trotting, canter (canter), and fast canter. Wrong trot and wrong step are called amble. The speed of 6 km / h is characteristic for the first gait – step, 15 km / h for the second, and 16-20 km / h for the third. Gallop is everything that is higher than this speed. At the same time, the speed developed by the horse can exceed 60 km / h! This gallop is called a career.

Surely you have seen the horse galloping like a trot (in fact, the trot is an accelerated step with the transition to the race). But there are technical differences. What is a step? A step is when a horse lifts one leg after the other and lowers them to the ground in the same order. As for the trotting the right front foot touches the ground simultaneously with the back left foot, and then vice versa. At a gallop, the hind legs move forward simultaneously, while the animal continues to leap, carrying forward the front legs. At the same time, there is a moment when all four horse hooves hover in the air, being detached from the ground! That is why there is an uneven distribution of the load on the legs of the animal, because it does not land on all 4 limbs at the same time. In the case of a trot this does not occur. A horse can trot for quite a while, but at a gallop it can’t.

Trotting is a slower pace than a gallop (although some specially trained trotters trot faster than other horses at a gallop). Galloping, a horse at a certain moment tears off all limbs from the ground. When moving at a trot, the load on the horse’s legs is distributed evenly, which cannot be said about a gallop – this allows the horse to run longer.

Trotting is probably the most common way for a horse to run. It is easy and pleasant for a horse, because it allows you to move quickly and effortlessly, but for a rider a horse trot, even if not too fast, can become a considerable challenge. The fact is that, unlike a step, trotting has a jump phase, due to which the movement becomes uneven, which means it requires a rider’s skill and sometimes even more than other, more agile horse gaits.