Gaited horses are

horse breeds The following list of horse and pony breeds includes standardized breeds, some strains within breeds that are considered distinct populations, types of horses with common characteristics that are not necessarily standardized breeds but are someti ...

that have

selective breeding Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant m ...

for natural gaited tendencies, that is, the ability to perform one of the smooth-to-ride, intermediate speed, four-beat

horse gait Horses can use various gaits (patterns of leg movement) during Terrestrial locomotion, locomotion across solid ground, either naturally or as a result of specialized horse training, training by humans.Ensminger, M. E. ''Horses and Horsemanship'' ...

s, collectively referred to as '' ambling gaits''. In most "gaited" breeds, an

ambling An ambling gait or amble is any of several four-beat intermediate horse gaits, all of which are faster than a walk but usually slower than a canter and always slower than a gallop. Horses that amble are sometimes referred to as " gaited", pa ...

gait is a

hereditary Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...

trait. This mutation may be a

dominant gene In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant (allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the effect of a different variant of the same gene on the other copy of the chromosome. The first variant is termed dominant and ...

, in that even one copy of the mutated

allele An allele is a variant of the sequence of nucleotides at a particular location, or Locus (genetics), locus, on a DNA molecule. Alleles can differ at a single position through Single-nucleotide polymorphism, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), ...

will produce gaitedness. However, some representatives of these breeds may not always gait. Conversely, some naturally trotting breeds not listed above may have ambling or "gaited" ability, particularly with specialized training. Many horses can both

trot The trot is a two-beat diagonal horse gait where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about . A very slow trot is som ...

and amble, and some horses pace in addition to the amble, instead of trotting. However, pacing in gaited horses is often, though not always, discouraged, though the gene that produces gaitedness appears to also produce pacing ability. Some horses do not naturally trot or pace easily, they prefer their ambling gait for their standard intermediate speed.Breeds that Gait." ''Equus'', issue 359, August, 2007, pp. 52-54 A mutation on the gene DMRT3, which controls the spinal neurological circuits related to limb movement and motion, causes a "premature 'stop codon'" in horses with lateral ambling gaits. Such breeds include the following: * Aegidienberger *

American Saddlebred The American Saddlebred is a horse breed from the United States. Descended from riding-type horses bred at the time of the American Revolution, the American Saddlebred includes the Narragansett Pacer, Canadian Pacer, Morgan horse, Morgan and ...

* Campeiro * Campolina *

Florida Cracker Horse The Florida Cracker Horse is a critically endangered horse breed from the U.S. state of Florida. It is genetically and physically similar to many other Spanish-style horses, especially those from the Spanish Colonial horse group, includin ...

* Garrano *

Icelandic horse The Icelandic horse ( ), or Icelandic, is a Horse breed, breed of horse developed in Iceland. Although the horses are smaller (at times pony-sized) than other breeds, most Breed registry, registries for the Icelandic refer to it as a horse. Th ...

* Kathiawari *

Mangalarga Marchador The Mangalarga Marchador is a Brazilian breed of riding horse. It is the national horse breed of Brazil, where there are more than half a million of them; it is among the most numerous breeds of riding horse in the world. It derives from cro ...

* Marwari horse * Messara horse * Missouri Fox Trotter * Mongolian Horse *

Morgan horse The Morgan horse is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the foundation bloodstock, foundation sire Figure (horse), Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, Morgans served ma ...

* Mountain Pleasure Horse * Narragansett Pacer (extinct) * Nordestino * North American Single-Footing Horse *

Pampa The Pampas (; from Quechuan languages, Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentina, Argentine Provinces of Argentina, provinces of Buenos Aires Pro ...

Paso Fino The Paso Fino is a naturally gaited light horse breed dating back to horses imported to the Caribbean from Spain. ''Pasos'' are prized for their smooth, natural, four-beat, lateral ambling gait; they are used in many disciplines, but are especi ...

* Peruvian Paso * Racking Horse * Rocky Mountain Horse * Spotted Saddle Horse *

Tennessee Walking Horse The Tennessee Walking Horse or Tennessee Walker is a horse breed, breed of gaited horse known for its unique four-beat running-walk and flashy movement. It was originally Horse breeding, developed as a riding horse on farms and plantations in t ...

* Walkaloosa

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaited horse breeds Types of horse Lists of breeds

See also

References