The movement of the Spanish Horse

The movement of the Spanish horse is functional. The Spanish Horse should be able to go work cattle in the morning, do an upper level dressage test in the middle of the day, take children on a trail ride before dinner, and then take the family on a carriage ride in the evening. The movement should be hind end driven with elasticity, power, and ground coverage. Each of the three natural gaits should be able to collect and extend effortlessly.

The walk of a Spanish horse is THE MOST important of the three natural gaits. If your horse does not have a good walk, then the horse does not have good movement. This should be a four beat walk, with the following hoof strikes: hind right, front right, hind left, front left. With each stride being of equal length. When watching the walk you should be able to count the steps out loud and the tempo of each stride should be the same. The walk must have impulsion, elevation, swing, and extension. The hind end should engage fully, with the hind feet lifting (elevation), and …

The trot is brilliant, elevated, suspended, hind end driven, and extended (all in equal portion). It is a two-beat gate, with diagonal pairs striking the ground at the same time (Left hind and front right, and right hind and left front). Like the walk, the hind end is the MOST important factor in the trot. Trots may be manufactured and trained. Here we will be discussing the natural trot, not one manufactured or augmented by training.

The canter like the walk cannot be manufactured, either the horse has a good canter or it does not. The canter in the Spanish horse is all about…. you guessed it…. the hind end.! This is where the quality of the walk is seen again. Horses with a bad walk will have a bad canter, horses with a good walk with have….. a good canter! The amount of lift (jump) in the canter is determined by how far under the horse the hind legs reach before striking the ground. When looking at the horse you want to see 3 distinct

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