Intermediate Movement

Each stride can be broken into five phases:



1. Landing - when the foot hits the ground

2. Loading - when the foot bears weight; usually the fetlock is at its lowest position

3. Stance - the fetlock raises to the point it's at when the horse is standing at rest.

4. Breakover - lasts from when the heel begins to leave the ground until the toe leaves the ground. The heel lifts and the knee or hock begins to flex.

a. start - heel leaving ground
b. finish - toe leaving ground
5. Swing - the time the foot is in the air.
Movement Faults:

Now that you know the basic beats and how the stride works, it's time to realize it's not a perfect world *sigh*. I'm sorry to be the one to break it to you. >;-P And since it's not a perfect word, not all horses move correctly. So when you find a horse who's movement is creative, you need to be able to evaluate the risks of this and decide whether it's something you want to deal with.

Normal (or @ least ideal) is that the horse will be able to walk a straight path, with each foot staying equal distance from an invisible centre line. Let's be honest, this section is only here so that pictures of the next three examples make sense!










Winging is when the leg travels on an arch in toward the centre instead of on a straight line. This is often connected with horses that toe-out (more on that on conformation day :) Try it yourself -- turn your toes out ballet style and try to walk, you'll find your legs naturally swing toward each other. Seriously -- get up from the computer and go for a walk. You'll feel foolish, but you'll remember it :) Winging can cause a horse to kick himself (see brushing below), and may place extra stress on the inside of the horse's leg as the hoof hits the ground.

This fault also leads to brushing (when one foot hits the other leg, usually @ fetlock level, while moving). This can also be caused by poor shoeing. Horses that brush should wear boots.


Paddling - the opposite of winging in that the legs move away from the center line. To remember which is which, picture paddling a canoe - your paddle would go out of the boat and back towards it. Paddling is often caused by toe-in conformation. This too you can try without your horse. Point your toes toward each other and try to walk. Have fun :)









Plaiting - is when both front feet travel on the centre line (almost directly in front of each other). Horses that plait are often prone to tripping.












Over-reaching is when the toes of the hind foot hits the back of the front foot (injuring usually the heels). Horses that over-reach should wear bell boots. Over-reaching is seen most often in high-energy sports (jumping, xc, etc)

Forging is when the hind shoe strikes the front shoe as the horse trots. This is less dangerous than over-reaching but may cause shoes to be pulled or your horse to trip. This occurs when the hind leg moves too quickly or the front leg too slowly. Often seen in green or tired horses.