It is vitally important to be able to view a horse walk and be able to determine a fault in its conformation and/or movement - be it a newborn foal, a yearling or an older horse. It is important to assess a horse’s conformation routinely and keep an eye out for any abnormalities in their movement or gait. Below are some basic tips on how to do so.

MOVEMENT AND GAIT

When I assess a horse’s gait, I like to watch the horse walk directly away from me, towards me and I also like to watch them walk straight past me. I find that when viewing a horse in these stages it allows you to get a good assessment of the movement, soundness and conformation of the horse and both its front and hind legs.

It is most important while viewing a horse that he is allowed walk freely with his head loose because if his head is held to one side or restricted, it can alter how the horse moves and how you view the horse.

1. Front view

While looking at a horse with good conformation of its limbs from the front, he should move in line with his body, you will notice the toe pointed forward and the foot falling flat to the ground.

However, horses with poor conformation will have a different movement and footfall.

If you notice a horse that is pigeon-toed or toed-in, the horse’s foot will move forwards, outwards and then inwards in a circular action. This leads to the horse landing on the outside toe quarter of the foot.

If you notice the horse to be turned out or toed out, the foot will move inwards, forward and then outwards. This action leads the horse to land on the inside toe quarter of the foot and this movement/conformation causes brushing.

If you notice the horse to move one foot and land in front of the opposite forefoot, this is known as plaiting and can be related to stumbling.

2. Side view

From the side, you should be able to see a horse moving his front leg away to be replaced by the hind leg, this represents a horse with good co-ordination. From the side, you should also notice the length of stride, extension of the limbs and joints.

3. Hind view

While viewing a horse walk away from me, I like to see how they move themselves, you should be able to see their hind legs move relatively straight, in line with their body from the back. You can also see how horses move close behind which may later cause the horse to strike off the opposite leg.

I also like to see the horse move his tail from side to side, similar to the arm of a grandfather clock, this represents a horse that has good movement.

RHYTHM OF FOOTFALL

The average horse moves with stride of equal lengths, placing its feet to the ground in a definite sequence and rhythm.

At walk, the horse moves with a four-time rhythm - the sequence being left hind, left fore, right hind, right fore. During walk, the horse always has a foot on the ground meaning there is no moment of suspension (i.e., where a horse has all feet off the ground at the one time).

At trot, the feet move in a two-time rhythm of diagonal pairs - the left hind foot and right fore foot, the right hind foot and left fore foot.

Occasionally horses can be seen to pace rather than the normal trot meaning the left hind and left fore move together and the right hind and right fore move together in a two-time pair.

At canter, the horse moves with a three-time rhythm, if leading off the right foreleg, the sequence is left hind followed by the right hind and left fore together, then the right fore. The sequence is reversed if the horse is leading from the left fore, i.e. right hind, left hind and right fore together and then the left fore.

LAMENESS

There are a number of causes for abnormal gait, one of which is lameness. You will notice as the horse moves or loads weight on the leg which they are lame, a shortness in stride will be seen in that leg.

Lameness can be hard for an untrained eye to detect during a walk as the horse has the support of two other legs during a walk, while at trot, the horse only has the support of just its opposite leg so therefore trot is often the best gait to determine lameness.

If lameness is in one of the forelegs, you will notice as the horse walks towards you, that he will raise his head while bearing weight on the lame leg and lowering his head while putting weight on the sound leg thus creating a nodding effect as he or she moves.

If lameness is located in the hind legs, you will notice as the horse moves away from you that the hind quarter sinks down more on the side of lameness compared to the side of soundness.

If the lameness is in both the front feet or both the hind feet, you will see the horse has a shortened stride moving their feet closer to the ground and in the hind feet, there will also be a difficulty in backing up.

A note to remember is that horses of different breeds have different gaits due to their breeding and their preferred action.