The worldwide four beat gaits are fascinating. In all of them the most important aspect is the evenly spaced four beat, cadenced and balanced. The main differences are detected in the degree of collection, speed and way of moving the legs, what gives to each gait a specific style.

Paso Fino – This horse shows the greatest collection and the lowest speed in the Classic Fino; a medium collection and a medium extension in the Paso Corto; and the greatest extension and speed in the Paso Largo.

Mountain Horses – These horses perform a medium collected and moderated extended four beat lateral broken gait.

Peruvian Paso – This horse has the unique “Termino”, a trademark of this breed. It is a superb front leg action, like the movement performed by a swimmer, the strength coming from the shoulders, swinging the arms high and to the outside. In some horses, the “termino” is so evident that the fore hooves almost touch the shoulders.

Missouri Fox Trotting Horse – The most typical gait is the Fox Trot. There is a nodding movement of the head, following the rhythmic beat of the hooves, and the horse seems to be traveling briskly, walking with the fore legs and gaiting with the hind legs. The hind feet perform a sliding action in order to keep the beat with the typical gait, and the fore diagonal hoof touches the ground a fraction of second before the hind one, reducing vertical jarring effects, a characteristic of the trot. The rider does not need to stand in the saddle, like he does during the regular trot. The steps should be straight (swinging is not a quality), the strides long, regular and smooth. The horse carries its head and tail slightly elevated, keeping time with the movement of the feet. Any training device or shoeing is not required to perform the fox trot four beat gait.

Mangalarga Marchador – The gait may be a broken diagonal, named “Marcha Batida” or a broken lateral, named “Marcha Picada” At the shows these two gaits are judged separately. The collection and extension are moderate. The gait contest lasts for, approximately, one hour. The gait is evaluated on equal percentages for smoothness, style, regularity and length of strides.

Campolina – There are also separated judgment for the diagonal and lateral broken gaited horses. However, the Breed Standard establishes that the ideal gait is the perfect evenly spaced four beat. So, the gait is not diagonal, neither lateral broken. This gait is technically defined as “Marcha de Centro”, what means “Center Four Beat Gait”, because it is just at the middle point between the undesirables Pace and Trot. The gait contest lasts for 40 minutes. The gait is judged 50% on smoothness and the degree of dissociation between the diagonal and lateral pairs of legs, 20% style, 15% regularity and 15% length of strides.

Piquira – The gait may be diagonal or lateral broken. The collection and extension are moderate.

Campeiro – The gait may be diagonal or lateral broken. The collection and extension are moderate.