Horse Gaits: Walk, Trot and Canter

The walk

The walk is a four-beat gait — each hoof lands separately, giving a steady, even rhythm. It is where every rider begins and where every rider returns when learning something new.

At the walk a student learns position, steering, stopping and the feel of a horse moving beneath them, all at a speed that allows time to think.

The trot (Western: the jog)

The trot is a two-beat gait: the legs move in diagonal pairs, so the horse's left front and right hind land together, then the right front and left hind. That pairing is what makes the trot feel bouncy.

In Western riding the same gait, ridden slower and flatter, is called the jog.

Posting and sitting the trot

Because the trot has that up-and-down motion, English riders often post: rising slightly out of the saddle as one diagonal pair lifts and sitting as it lands. Posting keeps the rider in rhythm with the horse instead of fighting it.

Sitting the trot means staying seated and absorbing the motion through a relaxed seat and back. It is harder than it looks and is usually taught in short stretches at first.

Diagonals, in plain terms

When posting, a rider rises and sits in time with a particular diagonal pair of legs. Riding on the correct diagonal helps the horse stay balanced, especially on a turn or circle.

Beginners learn to feel or glance for it once posting itself is comfortable — never before.

The canter (Western: the lope)

The canter is a three-beat gait with a rolling, rocking feel that most riders find smoother than the trot once they are balanced. The Western version, slower and more relaxed, is called the lope.

Riders are introduced to the canter only when their seat, hands and steering are reliable at the trot.

Leads, in plain terms

At the canter, one foreleg reaches further forward than the other — that is the horse's lead. A horse is normally asked for the inside lead when circling in that direction, because it helps the horse stay balanced through the turn.

Recognising and asking for the correct lead is an intermediate skill; the concept is introduced long before it is expected.

Two-point position

Two-point, sometimes called half-seat, means lifting the seat slightly out of the saddle with weight carried in the heels and the legs, using the two points of contact of the legs. It builds leg strength and balance and is used at faster gaits.

The gallop

The gallop is the horse's fastest four-beat gait. It is not part of beginner lesson work; students learn about it as vocabulary long before it is ever relevant to their riding.

How riders progress through the gaits

Progression is earned, not scheduled. A rider moves to the next gait when their position, steering and stopping are secure at the current one, and instructors make that judgement individually. It is completely normal for two students who started on the same day to progress at different speeds.