Walk
The walk is the slowest gait: a calm four-beat movement in which the four legs land one after another, with no moment of suspension.
What does this gait look like?
At the walk the horse places each leg down separately in an even four-beat rhythm. There are always two or three hooves on the ground at once, so the gait looks calm and stable.
- Number of beats
- 4
- Footfall order
- left hind, left fore, right hind, right fore
- Suspension
- No
- Type
- Lateral (same-side)
More about this gait
The footfall is lateral in tendency: left hind, left fore, right hind, right fore. Because there is no suspension, you hear four even hoofbeats. A pure walk has a regular four-beat rhythm and stays long and active without falling into a pace.
Discover more
Sources: Hildebrand, M. (1965), Science 150(3697):701-708 (UC Davis) · Wikipedia.