At rest, a horse puts his weight on one front leg and on one rear leg on the opposite side. If you consider the 4 legs as four corners of a rectangle, the horse stands with his weight on diagonally opposite legs. If you study a still horse for some time, you will see him shifting weight every once in a while from one set of diagonally opposite legs to the other.

That is the way in which he moves, as well. He leads off with a rear leg, followed by the diagonally opposite front leg, then the other rear leg and the other front leg. The various speeds of his forward movement are called gaits.

To understand a horse’s motion and momentum, you only need to realise the idea that each front leg, though independent physically, takes up and continues the motion activated by the diagonally opposite rear leg.

It could be tough to grasp this concept because the average homo sapien never bothers to think rationally about the way 4 footed animals loco mote. Yet it is sensible if you keep at the back of your mind: no 4 footed animal can launch itself by lifting both feet on one side off the ground. It is going to lean over and go crash on to the ground. Try and imagine a horse with a rider astride taking off by lifting both feet on one side!

And some animals, especially the canine and feline species, alternate between both front feet and both back feet only when they are running at high speed. Ever seen a leopard on screen or in real life at full glorious stretch?

So, for most gaits the horse goes through a first rear-opposite front-second rear-opposite front cycle. Clearly, the faster the horse is moving, the speedier the cycle is repeating itself.

Before we are able to proceed past this point it needs to be accepted that each pair of legs have a specific task to perform not just during standing, but also particularly during the movement cycles or gaits.

Apart from their role in sustaining motion, the front legs are used by the horse to switch direction, and the rear legs are the prime mover. They provide the thrust. They’re the more powerful legs, attached to the massive muscular mass of the horse’s lower torso.

Hopefully, that should have given you an idea of the particular mechanism involving his 4 legs that a horse uses to push himself forward. You can call it a four-stroke mechanism if you like. The momentum of each cycle is composed of 3 parts:

1). Creation of momentum, when the first movement is begun with either of the rear legs;

2). Continuance of momentum, when the opposite front leg takes over more to sustain balance and direction than to add power to the forward thrust, followed by the thrust of the other rear leg and the balance and direction of the other front leg;

3). Sustenance of momentum, when the four legs alternate in repeating cycles; the quantity of cycles per unit time determines the speed of forward movement.

You need to appreciate nature’s diversity. Ever tried to go down on all 4s and advance in imitation of a horse? You’ll find your own shortage of coordination funny.

Horses are Heather Tomspassion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers read more