In this series we explore the various aspects of the five-gaited horse, starting with a bit of history and a description of the lateral gaits. When hearing the term "five gaits" or "five gaiter", the first thing that jumps to mind for most people with an interest in any equine discipline, is the American Saddler. This is mainly because the enthusiasts of this breed have commercialised their way of riding these horses and associated tactics with considerable success over the past few -decades.

Well done to them for achieving this. The continuous dedication they display to their breed and style, is something that could serve as an example to anyone trying to establish anything different than the norm.

What I will be trying to achieve with this series of articles, is to illustrate the different ways and differences between the various gaited breeds and the application of their gaits. In no way do I wish to insinuate that the one is superior to the other or that some are incorrect, but simply that there are more applications and disciplines to gaited riding than that used by the American Saddlebred in the show ring.

Most horses are capable of doing two diagonal gaits, walk and trot, and one lateral gait, canter. Gaited horses are capable of doing two diagonal gaits (walk and trot) but up to three lateral gaits. The names of the two lateral gaits, in addition to the canter, vary greatly according to region and country, but in South Africa the terms mainly used are slow gait and rack (In Afrikaans kortgang and trippel.)

The greatest difference between areas and breeds is not so much in the gaits themselves, but more in the application of the gaits as a result of the horse’s conformation.

Gaited horses in history
Riding horses in gaits is not something that a few trainers started doing in the 1900's -because some horses look spectacular while going through these paces. As far back as 1099 AD, records and artwork can be found on -gaited horses. Especially in times before the presence of any road infrastructure, gaited horses were the preferred method of transport in Europe and England. This was mainly because of the comfort for horse and rider associated with correct lateral gaits.

Horses were ridden over long distances in these gaits. It goes without saying that the gaits had to come naturally to the horses in order to maintain it over the distances required, and mostly also covering difficult terrain.
There were many breeds capable of lateral gaits. Indications are that gaited horses did not necessarily come from one region but rather that it was a common occurrence in different regions. To this day, some of the most ancient surviving breeds on the planet such as the Barb and Islandic pony, and certain of the Spanish bloodlines are capable of performing lateral gaits.

With the advent of road infrastructure in Europe came the horse-drawn cart. The -carriage was not there from the beginning and initially horse-drawn vehicles were limited to draught type horses for transporting goods.

The evolution into the carriage should have taken a couple of decades and, as -innovation improved the carriage as transport medium, the trotter came into favour. This did not -happen because people suddenly thought -riding in gaits was appalling for horse or rider, but simply because breeders were suddenly spending more time on carriage seats than in the saddle.

The horse studs of that time usually -belonged to the royal and the wealthy. The masters were in control of the breeding selection and because they rode mounted less and less, they stopped selecting for gaits, but rather -preferred the trot. Trotting is by law of nature the most effective gait for pulling any type of horse powered vehicle. Hence the end of the commonly used gaited horse in Europe.

Towards the new colonies
This type of horse still, however, had some usefulness and came in fairly handy in the new colonies where there were no roads. Once again, gaited horses had to carry the pioneers and explorers while conquering the new world. This may be the very reason why today gaited horses have its greatest following outside of Europe (North America, South America and South Africa).

They thrived and were looked after in the colonies because they represented the most useful form of transportation. In South Africa we find reference to gaited horses already in the early 1800's and history indicates that -gaited horses became most popular at the time of the great trek and the two Anglo Wars.

Why? Simply because of the ability of the gaited horse to provide comfortable and -sustainable transportation for many a rider in untamed Africa. Many records on especially the second Anglo Boer War (more records seem to be kept in times of war) show envy and respect to riders with good "rackers" (trippelaars).

This fact is contary to claims that gaits are strenuous and injury provoking to horses. If these horses were prone to injury and/or lameness, they certainly would not have been so highly acclaimed as cavalry and work horses. This was not limited to South Africa. In the US the founding statements of most gaited breeds indicate their comfort and sustainability in working conditions as a core virtue. Although modern day application of gaiters is confined to the show ring, there is plenty of proof that gaited horses have been the choice of the working rider for ages.

Further to this, gaited horses enjoy a great following in countries where horsemen are not people who stable and keep horses for recreational purposes. In South America and some parts of South Africa where horses still play a vital role in daily chores and survival, good gaited horses are considered very valuable.

I myself have been part of, and heard many a story, of expeditions to deep rural areas such as Zululand and Lesotho in search of good

trippelaars. Large amounts of money have been offered to the owners of likely candidates, only to be refused by the owners - very often men who could barely clothe their -families. This should speak for itself?

The new era
The equine world of the 21st century, in the environment that the readers of SA Horseman mostly represent, is something entirely different. This is a world or time that doesn’t require, or even shrugs off, most of the above virtues. Most horse enthusiasts do not respect or expect these virtues and capabilities any more, simply because we don't require them anymore. We ride for pleasure. Period.

So now we find ourselves in a space where cosmetic, enjoyment and competitive factors are paramount in the selection of horses for a specific discipline. These have become the norms for horses in general.

When referring to the extra/additional gaits you often hear the term, "manmade" gaits or -"artificial" gaits. This is, in my opinion, very far removed from the facts. If these were manmade gaits it would by definition imply that any horse can be taught this by any man who has the required equipment and necessary know-how.

According to my knowledge, racking Thorough-breds and Warmbloods are not found in abundance. Lateral gaits are without question a genetic trait and to horses that possess this, the ability comes naturally.

These gaits are simply developed and -improved with schooling, similar to any form of movement in any riding discipline. Like dressage horses do not piaffe, passage and half-pass the day after they are backed, so also do lateral gaits need to be improved upon through schooling and proper development of the horse.

How the gaits work
Gaited horse enthusiasts often mistake the -definition or accuracy of a lateral gait by -using the appearance of the horse in gait as barometer, instead of the sequential pattern of -footfalls of such a specific gait. I am not -going to -elaborate on the walk, trot and -canter -assuming -everyone knows how this works.

The lateral gait, however, is marked by the stride direction of the front and hind leg working together. So, the legs on the same side move in the same direction. In other words, when the left fore goes forward so does the left hind and visa versa. In the trot, by contrast, if the left fore goes back the left hind comes forward and visa versa.

Slow gait (kortgang)
This is the first of the lateral gaits (yet in my- -experience the second to teach a horse -capable of performing these gaits). In this gait the hooves on the same side lifts off the ground at the same time (at this stage the horse is supported by one or both of the legs on the opposite side).

Both legs/hooves keep elevating until they simultaneously reach the highest/turning point and start coming downward. At this turning point both legs/hooves start coming down -together again which should be in exact pace with each other, however, as the downward movement starts, the hind leg breaks earlier, striking the ground first.

Note that the hind hoof should always strike the ground first. This results in a clear 1-2-1-2 beat of the hoofs. The slow gait is, as indicated by name, slow in pace and in traditional terms should not exceed 6 m/ph.

Rack (trippel)
Racking is generally accepted as the second of the lateral gaits. This is the faster, more exciting of the lateral gaits. Same as in the slow gait, the hooves of the same side are elevated at the same time.

The difference here is that in the rack, the hind leg/foot breaks downward while the front leg of the same side is still elevating the front hoof. This has the effect that the hind hoof strikes the ground well before the front. In a true rack each hoof strikes the ground in its own time, resulting in a clear and rhythmic 1-2-3-4.

Because the hoofs are intended to leave the ground at the same time for the next stride again, the front leg never really goes under the chest of the horse. So in simple terms the hind foot spends more time on the ground than the front. It is for this reason that a photograph of a racking horse displays the hind leg going far out to the back, yet the front never really going beyond the vertical point.

In the next edition of SA Horseman, I will discuss the different styles of riding gaited horses.