How can I tell if my horse is doing a four-beat ambling gait and/or what four-beat ambling gait my horse is doing? I would suggest taking 1/8 speed slow motion video so you can truly see the footfall and compare it to the slow motion ambling gait videos on my Ambling Gaits webpage https://griffes.fyi/Ambling-Gaits MANY phone cameras can take good slow motion video - mine allows choosing 1/4 speed or 1/8 speed - choose 1/8 speed so it is slowed down enough to clearly see the footfall. Ensure you can see the footfall of all four limbs - the body of the horse is not what you need to see - you need to see the limb movement of all four limbs and you also need to clearly see the footfall of all four hooves.
Can you teach your gaited horse to gait more smoothly? If your gaited horse is a bit rough - either trotty or pacey then YES you assuredly can teach your horse to gait more smoothly. ---- But if your horse does the Saddle Rack so smoothly it feels like the saddle is floating through the air - then nope they don't get smoother than that and very very few gaited horses can gait that smoothly - I have ridden just one thus far that could - a small Spotted Saddle Horse filly named Rain (she was 4yrs old when she was in training) which now lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. But odds are you did not come to a webpage on Ambling Gait Improvement if you are riding a horse that gaits as smooth as 4yr old Rain the Spotted Saddle Horse filly.
So in just a few words where do you start to work on getting smoother gait? IMO - start by working to get your horse to walk faster. If it naturally walks 3mph then work to get it to walk 3.5mph then 4mph then 4.5mph then 5mph. (Tessa, a 15yr old TWH mare in training, did the Flat Foot Walk 5.5 mph and sometimes briefly up to 5.8 mph the evening of 16 July 2026 - she desperately wanted to gait and I was insisting on a walk only ride so she walked just as fast as she could.) This will NOT be the work of a single riding session most likely. But work the walk until they can walk MUCH faster than they naturally used to walk. While you are doing that work to develop a much faster Flat Foot Walk they may just offer up the Running Walk - which is the exactly same footfall as the Flat Foot Walk but with more energy and more overstride. If you were monitoring speed on an app on your phone you will suddenly see it go from 5mph to 7mph (or so) when it starts doing the Running Walk. Obviously if it breaks out of the Flat Foot Walk into a rough gait then you transition it back down to the Flat Foot Walk. Equally obviously if it has not ever given you a step of smooth ambling gait and it breaks out of the Flat Foot Walk into any smooth ambling gait you praise it - generally by stopping and praising it.
How can I tell if my gaited horse is trotty or pacey? The trot bounces you mainly up and down. The pace you feel side to side movement in the saddle - swinging side to side. Both the trot and the pace are two beat gaits. Both the trot and pace have a moment of suspension with no hooves on the ground.
If (when you ask for second gait) your horse is trotty then the key to smoothing the gait is generally to reach your hands forward up the neck and pull the horses head straight up in order to temporarily hollow out its back which tends to break up the trot. As soon as the trot breaks you release the head. And you repeat if it goes trotty again. You are NOT trying to pull the horses head back - you are not trying to get flexion at the poll - you are pulling the head up to hollow out the back TEMPORARILY. And you do not want to keep its back hollowed out via a high head. All you are doing is breaking up the trot then releasing the horse into natural head position. If you are on a driveway or road you can hear the rhythm change. And when the trot is broke up things get smoother with less up and down motion. Praising the horse RIGHT AWAY when it is gaiting smoother is the most effective way to get the horse to figure out that you want smooth gait.
Working on breaking the trot tends to best be done on the smoothest surfaces - VERY short grass - smooth firm road - smooth firm driveway.
If (when you ask for second gait) your horse is pacey then the key to smoothing the gait is generally getting the horse to flex at the poll - round its back - so you have to work on getting it to learn to flex at the poll when you pick up light pressure on the reins - generally you simultaneously need to give a bit of leg pressure to keep the horse moving at close to the same speed - this is essentially what dressage folks call "driving the horse into the bit." If you are on a driveway or road you can hear the rhythm change. And when the pace is broke up things get smoother with less side to side motion. Praising the horse RIGHT AWAY when it is gaiting smoother is the most effective way to get the horse to figure out that you want smooth gait.
The pace can be broken up via going through deep going (deep sand for example) or tall grass - something that makes it harder to swing that lateral pair of limbs totally together. I have broken the pace going through a local prairie with grass nearly as tall as the horse I was riding. We were gaiting on the mowed path around the prairie - every time it went pacey I turned the horse into the prairie - when the pace was broken up I turned the horse back on the mowed path - after a few instances of that it figured out that if if did NOT get pacey it got to gait on the mowed path and it naturally chose to do that easier thing.
Catching the horse doing right is essential. Obviously effective praise can vary from horse to horse. Once you have gotten just a very few steps of smooth gait stopping and praising works well for many horses - so I would suggest starting there - you may have to explore a bit to find exactly how your horse best accepts the praise so that it then does more smooth gaiting for you. A horse that has the gaiting gene but only has trotted or only has paced is going to have to learn that you favor a four beat smooth ambling gait rather than the gait the horse has learned to prefer. The horse may at first only be able to gait smoothly a few steps - so you need to get busy and praise it while it is doing good. Then as it figures out that you favor a smooth four beat ambling gait it will offer a bit more and it will begin to strengthen the muscles that it needs to use to give that smooth four beat ambling gait - a few steps - then perhaps 25 yards - then 50 yards - then 100 yards and eventually IF YOU work at it bit by bit it will gait smoothly mile after mile. The "light switch of understanding" will get turned on - the needed ability will get developed - the needed muscles will be strengthened - muscle memory will develop. But yes you must catch it doing good and let it know it did good - so that it can figure out that you prefer a smooth four beat ambling gait done as smoothly as that horse is able to do it.
Don't I need to maintain bit contact to get my horse to gait smoothly? Horses I have been working with logged over 8,200 road and trail miles between 1 Jan 2022 (the day I finally started recording miles logged) and 17 July 2026 (the day I am writing this). For most horse people that is a lot of miles - for a rare few horse people I have a lot of catching up to do. Putting on those miles I look at this matter a bit differently than those who ride under a hundred miles per year (outside of the arena) for example. My aim is to teach the horse to gait as smoothly as it is capable of doing on a loose rein - meaning ZERO contact between my hands and the bit. IF you maintain constant bit contact when trail riding or doing most of the day's tasks on a ranch or while road riding then candidly you have not taught that horse to accept responsibility to gait the way you ask and maintain that gait until you ask for something different - instead you are trying to constantly hold it to doing something it has NOT yet agreed to do - thus you have some training work to do on both yourself and your horse. When you are trail riding or doing ranch work or road riding - literally any riding that involves hour after hour in the saddle - it does not much matter exactly what four beat ambling gait your horse is doing (and some horses shift between gaits - I have caught it on slow motion video) - what does matter is if it can do its travelling gait - a four beat ambling gait - smoothly for you the rider - and efficiently for the horse so it does not tire easily - so it can gait along faster than it can walk mile after mile.
Side yielding helps clean up the gait. Side yielding is more or less side passing while also moving forward (or backward - which is MUCH harder). I first get the horse side yielding well all the way across a NOT BUSY gravel road doing a Flat Foot Walk - walk straight a bit - then side yield the opposite way - back to the original side of the road - go straight a bit - repeat quite a few times. (Obviously you could also do this in a flat arena- just side yield a road width.) Once the gaited horse side yields fluidly at a walk you start side yielding in gait - in my experience this cleans up the gait - it tends to move the beat towards a more even beat between every footfall. The closer you can get to an even beat the better - perfectly even beat with independent limb movement is in my experience what gets you the smoothest gait. But you can get a horse with limb pairing (which automatically means you will have uneven beat) to gait more smoothly via getting it closer to an even beat even though it still is doing an uneven beat with limb pairing.
By way of analogy gaited horses are MUCH more musically talented than walk-trot-canter horses. Walk-trot-canter horses can ONLY play three songs - a four beat walk - a two beat trot OR a two beat pace - and a three beat canter. Gaited horses can play those songs (gaits) as well but that gaiting gene also gave them a four beat footfall sequence which allows them to do the smooth four beat ambling gaits. And you are the band director working to turn that extra dose of musical talent into a beautifully smooth four beat song (gait) with every note as evenly spaced in time to the others as you can get that horse to do. And yes you want them to play that song themselves - on a loose rein. As they develop ability to smoothly gait on a loose rein and you feel them go pacey - you lightly make contact - get that flex at the poll - give a bit of leg to drive them up into the bit and feel and listen for the four beats to return then you go back IMMEDIATELY to a loose rein so they know they are doing what you requested. Similar deal if the horse goes trotty but sometimes you gotta raise their head and break up the trot via momentarily hollowing out their back. You learn how to be a good band director - how to channel the talent of the pupil you are working with - how to get the most desirable output from the horse with the least input from you. Happy Gaiting!!
Good counsel from other experienced gaited horse people on the subject of Ambling Gait Improvement. Someone else may be able to explain it in a way that is easier for you to understand. So let's get all the good counsel we can so we can hopefully learn more accurately how to help our much loved gaited horse(s) to improve their ambling gait(s). These are all full quotes with attributions - shared with permission - shared with a list of gaited breeds they have worked with. Happy Gaiting!!
I like to ride a swingy (pacy) horse up inclines. I’ve never had many on the trotty side. But if we break a trotty horse we push it harder on downward slopes. Works amazing, builds muscle, don’t have to shoe them in crazy ways. Just consistency -Missy Stephens-Pennington- (experience with Mountain Pleasure Horse, Rocky Mountain Horse, and Kentucky Mountain Horse)
Alot of walking with head relaxed and not straight up. I see alot of people wanting too high of a head and they hollow out the horse at the withers then the wrong muscles are developed and horse is rough. Relaxed walking with some hills if possible and alot of flat land with asking/working a little speed to develop smooth gait. Muscle memory is KEY. If you can work & develop the correct muscles then you will get smooth gaits. Don't rush it, be patient and it will pay off. -Wendy Bronson- (experience with Saddledbred, Rocky Mountain Horse, Kentucky Mountain Horse, Tennessee Walking Horse, and Missouri Fox Trotter)
My Thoughts on Learning the Gait (July 2026)
Understanding the gait was a challenge for me.
I grew up riding non-gaited horses, so when I first became involved in gaited horses 9 years ago, I had a lot to learn.
When my Dad passed away and I took ownership of his beloved horse, Solomon, a Kentucky Mountain Horse, I was given the opportunity—and responsibility—to truly understand what made these horses so special. (Sarah's Dad)
The biggest lesson I learned, after many failed attempts is that the gait is not something you simply “get.” It is something you learn to recognize, develop, and communicate with your horse.
My search to understand gaited breeds is what led me to find Mountain Pleasure Horses.
After many attempts, questions, and lessons with trainers who didn’t actually understand the gait, this is the process that helped me the most:
First: Learn to identify the gait. Before you can develop a gait, you have to understand what you are looking for. Learn what a true 4-beat gait looks like, sounds like, and feels like. Equally important is understanding the difference between a trot, a 4-beat lateral gait, a pace, and a stepping pace.
We have been fortunate to have found Ivy Starnes of Ivy’s Glide Gait Training, whose knowledge and experience helped us better understand these differences. Ivy has become an invaluable resource to us and our horses.
Second: When you find it, reward it. One of the biggest things I learned was to stop and praise when the horse offered the gait you were asking for. Longer than you think—especially in the beginning. A 90-second to 2-minute pause to allow the horse to process, relax, and understand that they gave the correct answer can be incredibly valuable. You are teaching communication, not demanding a performance.
Third: Consistency creates understanding. Once you can recognize the gait, find it, and reward it, consistency allows both horse and rider to build confidence. Gradually, you can extend the time spent in the gait while maintaining relaxation and willingness. Think about athletic training for humans, small incremental steps towards achieving the goal. It’s no different teaching a horse to relax into their natural gait.
For me, learning gait has been a journey of patience, timing, feel, and partnership with our horses. The goal isn’t simply a smooth ride—the goal is understanding the horse and helping them become confident in the ask, while providing a pathway for them to naturally gait. -James Barnes & Sarah Hatton Barnes (experience with Kentucky Mountain Horse, Missouri Fox Trotter & Mountain Pleasure Horse.)