Article by Benjamin Wise
The horse is said to have four natural gaits, namely the walk, trot, canter and gallop. When you learn to ride you start off slow with the walk and work your way up in speed to the gallop. Each gait requires the rider to be balanced. Like a baby learns to crawl before he runs, I recommend that every beginner rider learn to walk before they gallop off into the sunset.
Gaits are the horses way of moving. So do you really need to know all about gaits? It really depends on your personal situation. If you are a beginner rider and decide to join a trail ride at a holiday resort, it would be important for you and the other riders to know what speed you are comfortable in and can safely ride.
If you say you can and would love to canter, but never have, you place yourself and the other riders at risk. A horse is a highly intelligent animal and he will sense your level of skill. You no doubt will have heightened excitement knowing you are going to canter and this may make your horse excited too.
The problem arises when you all get ready to canter and you find that you do not know what aid to give the horse to signal to canter; your horse may find himself left behind and go even faster to catch up, almost running away with you. This is a frightening experience and your horse will pick up on the fear and uncertainty, it is very unlikely your horse will stop or slow down until he reaches the other horses.
So it is important to know your level of riding and what speed or gait you are capable of riding on a horse. If you have never cantered and desire to do so, the best place to learn is in an arena.
When you want to partake in different horse disciplines and possibly compete, you certainly would need to know the gaits for that sport. For example a polo match is fast paced with minimal walking, barrel racing has zero walking, but dressage has various takes on the walk.
When first learning to ride, the trot is probably the most uncomfortable and challenging to ride. The rider?s body is propelled up into the air and unless you have balance you just end up plopping back down in the saddle only to be thrown up again.
The canter is smooth and rhythmic; it is a controlled speed and a gait enjoyed by almost every horse enthusiast. The key aspect a rider needs is to relax in his seat and move with the rocking motion of the horse. If you stiffen up and sit rigid, you will most likely have an uncomfortable ride as your body will be bounced about.
Last but not least of the natural gaits is the gallop. A horse?s top speed can be easily observed on any race track. I over the years have learned great respect for horses and riders that perform any task at a gallop.
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Source: http://paws-of-love.com/blog/curious-about-the-gaits-of-a-horse/
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