Sign in or register to personalize your experience
Articles from our resource area experts.

Have a question? Try asking one of our Experts

Horse Gaits - Effects of Structure and Hoof Flight Pattern

Last Updated: February 20, 2008 | Related resource areas: Horses

Correct Structure and Travel

A horse standing straight on their front and rear column of bone will travel in the most correct manner. (show correct travel, walk straight.jpg) As the normal foot travels in the straight line there is little chance of interference among the horse’s legs or hooves. Thus reducing the horse’s risk of injury.

You do not have the Flash plugin installed, which means you are missing out on great interactive content. Download Flash.

Walking Straight - no audio

Deviations in Structure and Travel

Deviations of bone structure can predispose horses to less than perfect travel. Horses that stand base wide or toed out travel in inward arcs called “Winging or Dishing”.

You do not have the Flash plugin installed, which means you are missing out on great interactive content. Download Flash.

Winging-in at a Trot - no audio

When horses stand base-narrow or toed-in they generally travel in wide outward arcs referred to as “Paddling”

You do not have the Flash plugin installed, which means you are missing out on great interactive content. Download Flash.

Paddling Out at a Trot - no audio


Although winging and paddling are common deviations in horse travel, winging is the more serious fault. If the condition is severe enough, interference between the supporting and striding legs and feet may occur.






Horse Gaits


More information:

horse selection and use

Have a specific question? Try asking one of our Experts

Unlike most other resources on the web, we have experts from Universities around the country ready to answer your questions.

Comments

Subscribe to this page's comments

Post a comment about this topic

Please keep comments on topic. To ask a question, please use Ask an Expert. All comments are held for moderation. Comments that include profanity, personal attacks or other inappropriate material will not be posted to the site.

Did you find this page useful?

No one has rated this article yet. Why not be the first? what is this?
not useful
very useful
 1  2  3  4  5

This resource area was created by the:

HorseQuest

community

Copad_horses
 

Find an Extension Office

Enter your zipcode to find your local Extension office:

Resource Area Feeds

In This Resource Area

Resource Area Tags

animal behavior animal diseases animal nutrition beef cattle dairy cattle disasters diseases entrepreneurship fire ants glossary horse chat horse diseases horse feeding management horse feeds horse health horse hoof horse management horse nutrition horse reproduction horse riding and handling horse selection and use horse training and behavior horticulture instructional videos integrated pest management parasites personal finance science soybeans swine wildlife damage management