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Description
A horse’s gait is the specific pattern of leg movement it uses to walk or run. Gaits fall into two groups: the natural gaits every horse performs, and additional “ambling” or lateral gaits, such as the pace, tölt, rack, and running walk, that some horses perform in place of or in addition to the trot. Training refines these gaits, but a horse’s ability to perform them is strongly influenced by its genetics.
Horses have four natural gaits. In increasing order of speed, they are the walk, trot, canter, and gallop. The canter is a three-beat gait and the gallop a four-beat gait, although some people consider the canter a variation of the gallop.
The walk is a four-beat gait averaging about 4 miles per hour, with the feet landing in the sequence left hind, left front, right hind, right front. At least one foot is on the ground at all times, so there is no moment of suspension.
The trot is a two-beat gait in which diagonal pairs of legs lift off and land together. It typically averages 6–10 miles per hour.
The canter is a three-beat gait, usually between 10 and 15 miles per hour depending on the horse.
The gallop is the fastest of the four natural gaits, reaching roughly 25 to 30 miles per hour.
Standardbreds, the breed used in harness racing, race either at the trot or at the pace. In the pace, the front and hind legs on the same side move together. Horses must hold their racing gait at high speed, because breaking into a gallop leads to disqualification.
Researchers in Sweden discovered that a mutation in a single gene, DMRT3, has a major effect on a horse’s ability to perform ambling gaits and to trot or pace at high speed without breaking into a gallop. The mutation is believed to have arisen more than 1,000 years ago, and horses carrying it were likely favored and bred for their smoother ride.
Possible results
| Genotype | Description |
|---|---|
| A/A | Homozygous: Horse has two copies of the DMRT3 gait mutation and will always pass one copy to its offspring. |
| C/A | Heterozygous: Horse has one copy of the wild-type allele and one copy of the DMRT3 gait mutation. Each foal has a 50% chance of inheriting the mutation. |
| C/C | Negative: Horse has two copies of the wild-type allele and does not carry the DMRT3 gait mutation. |
Breeds Affected
Icelandic Horse, Standardbred, Tennessee Walking Horse, Missouri Fox Trotter, Paso Fino, Peruvian Paso, Mangalarga Marchador, Rocky Mountain Horse, Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse, Nordic Trotter
Reference
Mutations in DMRT3 affect locomotion in horses and spinal circuit function in mice.
Nature. 2012 Aug 30;488(7413):642-6. doi: 10.1038/nature11399.
PMID: 22932389
Related Tests
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