THE WALK “CONTAINS ALL OTHER GAITS”
This sidebar excerpts single frames (some from films) to explain what Baucher meant when he said that the walk “contains all other gaits.”
Every gait is a particular combination of footfall order and the timing of the footfalls or sounded “beats.” It does not matter which foot is selected to represent the first beat; I always use left hind when teaching students and that is what is shown in all the gait sequences presented in this article. The footfall order in walk is left hind, left fore, right hind, right fore, and the timing is such that the footfalls come at perfectly even intervals of time.
The column on the left represents a spectrum of change in footfall timing which necessitates a change in the fore-aft balance of the body from more on the forehand to more on the hindquarter. In the four-beat canter, the footfall order is exactly that of the walk; left fore will ground before right hind. In the canter, the horse carries more weight upon the hind feet so that left fore and right hind will ground simultaneously as a diagonal pair. In the galope, the horse goes still more “uphill” so that, even though the hind step is large, right hind will ground before left fore. The four-beat canter has four sounded beats and usually, little or no period of suspension; the canter has three sounded beats and one unsounded beat (which is the period of suspension); and the galope has four sounded beats plus a prolonged period of suspension (thus five beats. The uncollected version of the galope is the gallop, which also has five beats).
The column on the right likewise represents a spectrum of change in footfall timing and body balance. The footfall order in rack is the same as the walk and the gait has four sounded beats and no period of suspension. The same is true of the Spanish trot but the horse weights the hind limbs more and thus spends almost no time upon either forelimb. There is a brief period of suspension. In the flying trot, the limb coordination is clearly more diagonal and the hind step is long, but in a way analogous to the galope, the hind thrust is so tremendous that suspension is prolonged and high, and the hind foot grounds ahead of the diagonally opposite forefoot.