Everything you need to know about the horse's artificial gaits
Artificial horse gaits are ways of moving or advancing that horses acquire through training sessions with professionals. If you plan to know all of them to know which one to adopt, the following information is for you.
The Spanish Step
If you are looking for a show gait that combines the majesty of the horse with a unique elegance, just adopt the Spanish walk for a horse with the perfect look like on La Sellerie Française . It is an artificial gait that is found more in professional show environments. For the horse, the gait consists of moving forward normally with the hindquarters. At the same time, the forelegs are stretched forward each in turn in an aesthetic movement. By moving forward, the horse gives the impression of probing the ground before placing the raised foreleg on it.
The passage
For wise horses, the passage is a simple gait to acquire in a few exercises. It consists of moving forward at a trot but with more emphasis on forward projection movements. The horse then gathers the trot quickly, raises it a little higher and gains more time for projection.
For such a long-term gait, the horse must be trained accordingly since it must be constantly supple and in top physical shape to hold. The work must also be carried out from start to finish by a professional who masters the horse's gallop and helps it understand the instructions from the first shot. For the rest, it is the skills and knowledge of the instinctive horse that will make the gait excellent or mediocre.
The piaffe
The piaffe is done on the spot. It is a dressage gait specific to the professional equestrian who specializes in dressage. With this movement, he holds his horse, controls it and makes it do exercises on the spot. Indeed, the movement is a trot on the spot in which the horse properly lifts the foreleg and the hindleg concerned while remaining on the spot. In the worst case, it moves slightly to the side with each movement. It is all a question of flexibility and optimized level of dressage.
The tölt and the amble
These are gaits specific to a specific breed of horse. These are mostly Icelandic horses and some breeds from America. The amble and the tölt are obtained by changing certain genes at the animal level. For the tölt in particular, it can be acquired by training. The amble, as far as it is concerned, is so popular that there are amble races throughout the world. It is also a gait considered very fast and can be used to cover ground in record time.
The raised airs
For a dressage rider, the most famous gaits are the best. They consist of performing movements with all four hooves in the air, without moving from one's place. The caper, the kick, the bow, the croupade, the rear and the balotade are the most popular in the major riding schools. To perform them, the level of experience counts.