The Trot
The Trot: A Bouncy Gait
The trot is a two-beat gait where a horse’s legs move in diagonal pairs—one front leg and the opposite back leg step forward together.
In the trot, the horse’s legs move in diagonal pairs.
Trot Footfalls
Left front + Right hind
Right front + Left hind
Pepper’s Floating Trot
Pepper’s trot is smooth and elegant thanks to her dressage training.
Young ponies often have a zoomy, unbalanced trot — but Pepper’s is like a soft, floating wave.
She may not be fast, but she is beautifully steady.
The trot faster than the walk but not as fast as the canter, usually around 6–10 miles per hour. That’s about how fast you can go on a bike!
Posting Trot Basics
Riders often post the trot by rising and sitting with the horse’s rhythm. This action smooths out the bouncy trot for the rider.
Posting is like gently standing up when the horse makes the big part of the bounce and sitting down on the next bounce.
