Horse Racing Fantasy Community

Yes, racing is fun – and watching horses battle in an all-out effort to win and hopefully help you cash a winning bet is also a lot of fun, but there’s a lot more to the horse and his movements or gait than that associated with just racing. Obviously, the thoroughbred races with one gait. He may switch leads, depending on whether he’s going around a turn or going down the straight-away, but for the most part, thoroughbreds race with the same motion. There’s actually a point in their stride where all four legs are off the ground. As the horse comes closer to the ground, each leg touches the ground for a fraction of a second. The way thoroughbreds run is actually a very natural gait and is not something necessarily trained. The faster the horse is going, the shorter the period any one leg is on the ground. This is why balance is so important for a good race horse. By having good center balance, a horse, specifically a thoroughbred, can use the most efficient gait or stride and cover the most amount of ground with the least amount of energy being exerted. The more balanced a horse’s gait or stride, the more efficient is his motion.

Good trainers and breeders know how to watch young horses running naturally out in the paddock. The slightest abnormalities can lead to a less efficient gait, which not only hinders the horse’s chance of winning when it comes to racing and obtaining high speeds efficiently and effectively, but it also increases the chance of injury. Because the thoroughbred is so fragile to start with, to the sharp eye of a trainer, certain motions or motion that cause additional or unnecessary actions by the horse can be deemed detrimental. I’ve watched horses in slow motion and it’s amazing how even an inexperienced person like myself can pick up on the excessive actions that would hurt their performance. You’ll also notice that the faster the horse goes and the more efficient his stride becomes, the horse actually gives the appearance of leveling off. From a jockey’s perspective, the ride is actually smoother the faster the horse goes because the stride of the horse is maximally extended. With that high speed action, especially in a well-balanced horse with proper gait, it is a very impressive sight.

Some racehorses, especially the 2-year-olds in training, are misjudged even by the best eyes of the trainers and buyers in the sales ring. Their confirmation may not be that great and their stride appears to be less than perfect. Even with good breeding, horses like this tend to go under-value. But, like everything else in life, when some of these horses end up on the track and in a race, their little abnormalities are overcome by their big hearts and natural abilities, specifically when it comes to speed and endurance.

Standardbreds or harness horses actually race with two different gaits. The first, which is a very natural gait for a lot of breeds of horses, is the trot. Trot is simply the motion of the front and hind legs on opposite sides moving in sync. Top trotters can reach speeds of 35 miles per hour and still keep their balance and their gait. The other gait, less natural to standardbreds, is known as the pace. Pacers (or sidewinders, as they’re known) move with a slight rocking motion, left to right, really only noticeable to a professional eye. The pacer has both legs on each side moving in sync, right legs then left legs, kind of like a locomotive. Because of the pace and the way it utilizes the horse’s hindquarters more effectively, there is a greater push-pull motion and pacers can travel slightly faster than trotters. The one common element between pacers and trotters, which is also a major separation between standardbreds and thoroughbreds, is the fact that standardbreds, no matter what the gait – pacing or trotting - have two legs touch the ground simultaneously, where the thoroughbred only has one come in contact with the ground at a time.

From a durability standpoint, standardbreds last longer, at lease in their racing careers. They are less prone to injury and can run up to 30 or 35 races or more in a single year. There are several reasons for this. They are naturally a more durable animal and don’t have the same level of inbreeding as thoroughbreds. They are actually bred with durability slightly more in focus where with the thoroughbred, speed is king. Standardbreds never carry any direct weight on their back and are pulled in a cart or racing sulky. Of course, the thoroughbred has the jockey’s weight directly on his back. Here’s one interesting fact – even though the thoroughbred comes in contact with the ground one leg at a time, where the standardbred has two, thoroughbreds are faster.

There are a lot of other gaits associated with horses. There’s the canter, which is a three-beat gait and tends to be a little faster than a trot but definitely not as fast as a gallop. When horses canter, one of the horse’s back or hind legs propels the horse forward. While that’s occurring and the weight of the horse is supported by a single leg, the remaining three legs are in simultaneous motion moving forward. The canter is actually a beautiful gait to watch.

Unnatural gaits or gaits known as ambling include the fox trot that is basically a four-beat diagonal gait, the running walk, the slow gait that is a very rhythmic gait and actually beautiful to watch. There are so many different styles when it comes to horses, and two horses performing the same action or gait can appear to be quite different. For certain gaits, big horses have a huge advantage and for others, smaller horses have the advantage.

One quick note – when the fear or flight factor is triggered in a horse, no matter what his natural gait is or what his trained gait might be, the gallop, the same gait associated with racing, is what the horse will turn to when trying to run from whatever he fears because even the horse knows, when it’s time to get his ass in motion and move as fast as he can, that’s his best bet.

We’ll follow up on other gaits later on, but there are some really cool YouTube videos where you can see in slow motion the different movements of all the breeds of horses. It’s actually quite enjoyable to watch.

- Twinberry73