By: Megan Childs

Why do horses have gaits? Gaits are defined by the different footfall sequences of foot patterns of an animal. Most animals change gait changes when moving from lower to higher speeds. Humans for example have two gaits. They have a walking gait and a running gait.

There are a few different theories as to why there are gaits. The most consistent theory of the gait is energy conservation of locomotion. Various tests support the theory that most animals will only naturally change gaits when it is more energy efficient to travel at that speed in another gait.

So why do horses have gaits? This question has been extensively researched by a number of people. In horses specifically, experiments have supported the idea that gait change is causes by metabolic factors as well as mechanical factors. On average horses changed gaits at a velocity that is proportional to the square root of their leg lengths. (Griffin 2004) With this in mind we can try to understand how the mechanical factors would play into the metabolic factors. This research would suggest that there is a biomechanical trigger to gait change.

So does this mean that a horse builds it body to be as energy efficient as possible? In most cases a horse’s mechanical trigger to change gaits and a horse’s metabolic trigger are almost exactly at the same transition speed. In conclusion we can theorize that horses have evolved in such a way that they mechanically change gaits at the most efficient speed for the specific horse. (Alexander 1989) These theories will be discussed in further detail on the page listed Theories.