Five-gaited horses are notable for their ability to perform five distinct

horse gait Horses can use various gaits (patterns of leg movement) during locomotion across solid ground, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans.Ensminger, M. E. ''Horses and Horsemanship'' 6th edition USA: Interstate Publisher ...

s instead of simply the three gaits, walk,

trot The trot is a ten-beat diagonal horse gait where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about . A very slow trot is someti ...

and canter or gallop common to most horses. Individual animals with this ability are often seen in the

American Saddlebred The American Saddlebred is a horse breed from the United States. This breed is referred to as the "Horse America Made". Descended from riding-type horses bred at the time of the American Revolution, the American Saddlebred includes the Nar ...

horse breed, though the Icelandic horse also has five-gaited individuals, though with a different set of gaits than the Saddlebred. The ability to perform an ambling gait or to pace appears to be due to a specific genetic mutation. Some horses are able to both trot and perform an ambling gait, but many can only do one or the other, thus five-gaited ability is not particularly common in the horse world. In the American Saddlebred and related breeds, the five gaits performed are the walk, trot, canter, and two

ambling gait An ambling gait or amble is any of several four-beat intermediate horse gaits, all of which are faster than a walk but usually slower than a canter and always slower than a gallop. Horses that amble are sometimes referred to as "gaited", particu ...

s: the rack, a fast, lateral, four-beat gait that is synchronous— "each foot meets the ground at equal, separate intervals"; and a "slow gait", a slower, smooth collected four-beat gait that is asynchronous — "the lateral front and hind feet start almost together but the hind foot contacts the ground slightly before its lateral forefoot." Another name for the slow gait is the stepping pace. The USEF is clear that the slow gait is not merely a slow version of the rack, but the primary difference between the two is the slight hesitation between the second and third beats of the slow gait. A five-gaited horse might also perform the

fox trot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a tim ...

rather than the stepping pace. 043 Sævar frá Stangarholti

In the Icelandic horse, the five gaits are the walk, trot, canter, ''tölt'' and the ''skeið'', or flying pace. The ''tölt'' is a lateral four-beat gait compared to the rack of the Saddlebred, but in style of performance sometimes more closely resembles the largo of the

Paso Fino The Paso Fino is a naturally gaited light horse breed dating back to horses imported to the Caribbean from Spain. Pasos are prized for their smooth, natural, four-beat, lateral ambling gait; they are used in many disciplines, but are especially ...

, or the running walk of the

Tennessee Walking Horse The Tennessee Walking Horse or Tennessee Walker is a breed of gaited horse known for its unique four-beat running-walk and flashy movement. It was originally developed as a riding horse on farms and plantations in the American South. It is ...

. Like all lateral ambling gaits, the footfall pattern is the same as the walk (left hind, left front, right hind, right front), but differs from the walk in that it can be performed at a range of speeds, from the speed of a typical fast walk up to the speed of a normal canter. Some Icelandic horses prefer to tölt, while others prefer to trot. The flying pace is a two-beat lateral gait, with a moment of suspension between the two sets of footfalls. At racing speeds, horses can perform the flying pace at speeds close to 30 mph. Icelandics that can perform the ''tölt'' but not the flying pace are called "four-gaited." Other

gaited horse Gaited horses are horse breeds that have selective breeding for natural gaited tendencies, that is, the ability to perform one of the smooth-to-ride, intermediate speed, four-beat horse gaits, collectively referred to as ''ambling gaits''. In mos ...

breeds may be able to perform five gaits, and individual horses of breeds not normally noted for possessing ambling gaits may also do so. Examples of these include the part-Saddlebred

National Show Horse The National Show Horse originated as a part-Arabian cross between an American Saddlebred and an Arabian horse. It is now established as a separate breed, since the founding of a breed registry in August 1981.Dutson ''96 Horse Breeds of North Am ...

, the

Arabian horse The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DIN 31635, DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is ...

, the Morgan, and the

Morab The Morab is an American breed of horse originally developed through the cross-breeding of Arabian and Morgan horses. The breeding of Morab horses began in the late 1880s with the intent of creating a fine carriage horse that was still substan ...

Notes

References

{{reflist Horse gaits Saddlebreds