Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Wild Animals. Hoofed Mammals. How to Gallop on a Horse. In the canter, one hind leg strikes the ground first, and then the other hind leg and one foreleg come down together, the the other foreleg strikes the ground.
This movement creates a three-beat rhythm that is usually faster than the average trot, but slower than a gallop. The average speed of a canter is between 10 and 17 miles per hour. This distinct three beat rhythm followed by a rest and then immediately afterwards a recurrence of the three beats followed by another rest is easy to distinguish.
The lope is a western term for canter. The gallop is an asymmetrical high speed four beat gait. This gait is thrilling for the rider and during the suspension phase when all feet are off the ground it feels like flying.
In the gallop, the basic canter movement is sped up so that all four feet are off the ground for a suspended moment. It is the fastest gait of a horse averaging about 25 to 30 miles per hour and is used in the wild when the horse needs to flee from a predator or cover a short distance quickly. Most horses need to rest after galloping for more than a mile or two. Standardbred and other breeds of horses can pace at a very high speed, making them popular on the race track. Notice the legs on each side moving in tandem.
The pace is a lateral two-beat gait with the two legs on the same side of the horse moving forward together. As in the trot, two feet are always off the ground.
Pacers are usually faster than trotters on average. A slow pace can be relatively comfortable as the rider is lightly rocked from side to side. A fast pace is uncomfortable for riding and difficult to sit because the rider is moved rapidly from side to side. This unusual gait allows the horse and rider to cover large distances comfortably.
These are a number of four-beat intermediate gaits with differences in footfall patterns and speed. Historically they are grouped together and horses that are able to do an ambling gait are referred to as "gaited. Among gaited horses, the American Saddlebred horse developed in Kentucky, and the Tennessee Walking Horse, developed for southern plantation owners who needed to cover the ground of their plantations in comfort and with speed, are two of the most popular horses.
Other gaited horses include the Icelandic Horse which is a sturdy horse with its roots in Viking history which possesses a gait known as the tolt, which is similar to the Tennessee Walker's running walk. The reins are held in the usual way in the hand gallop. In the gallop you can hold your reins in either the half bridge or the full bridge. Instead, the bridge will catch you. This galloping style is a Hollywood urban myth.
Racehorses aside, for the English rider, the best way to begin a gallop is to build it up slowly. This is because some horses can get high on the speed. Speed and length of stride are two different things. You can go very fast and jump the jump without slowing down very much.
Every kind of jump requires some kind of packaging of the stride. For instance, a steeplechase will not require the same as a downhill combination. Packaging of the stride goes back to your work on the flat. If your horse listens to your half-halts you can regulate his stride.
Stopping comes from control also learned during flat work. Hours spent over time training your horse to be responsive to the aids is going to pay off in safety, controllability and enjoyment. For the hand gallop, start from a normal canter on the flat, come out of the saddle in a two-point and encourage your horse to move forward.
Although the hand gallop is not normally used in hunter-under-saddle classes, it might be asked for in general schooling or breed shows. According to some of the Internet sites I visited while planning this column, the top speed an equine can attain for a short distance is 44 mph. If you have been reading my columns for a while, you will know better than to believe everything you read, but you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that regardless of how fast you think you are going, you really are only traveling at about half the maximum possible speed of horses.
Small comfort, for sure, but there it is. See also: The Science of Galloping. Because I want you to be safe and secure, we need to talk about your position before you actually gallop. Chances are, if you survive getting badly run away with, you will never again ride outside the confines of an arena. Your first galloping experience should be on a horse who can be kicked into a gallop but will slow down the moment you stop kicking.
In that event you might find yourself involved in a spontaneous horse race, which is not the point of the exercise. When I introduce you to the gallop, I will first make sure you are competent trotting and cantering around a large field.
The hay field between my stables and my house is about 35 acres, and I have always found that to be sufficient. You might be the sort of rider with little or no experience outside the confines of an arena and you have to be mentally adjusted before continuing the lesson. Find a suitable galloping area with enough room for the wider turns you will need to make as your speed increases over the next month or so.
I am going to assume your field has excellent footing and is free of hazards such as rocks and groundhog holes because the quickest way to make a sound horse lame is to step in a hole or gallop him on bad footing. Make sure you can see the markers as you approach. I use meters rather than yards or feet because most of the competitions I prepare riders for use metric measurements.
I set meters as the beginning distance of my speed trap because it is a fast show-jumping speed and most riders will be comfortable cantering at this speed. Pretty simple so far, right? But wait—although mpm is not much greater than you are already used to, shorten your stirrup length approximately 1 inch. With your stirrup leathers adjusted and with vertical stirrup leathers, test yourself at the halt: Rise out of your saddle as if you were posting at the trot, then pause at the top of that motion.
Now cross your arms in front of you and keep your balance there for longer and longer periods of time without using your arms to steady yourself.
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