When you are learning about horses, you will hear people talk about different gaits. But when it comes to horse canter vs gallop, what is the difference? Let’s find out!
The vast majority of horses have four gaits – walk, trot, canter, and gallop. However, some breeds and types of horses have a different or additional gait. These horses are called gaited horses.
It is a four-beat gait, where each hoof hits the ground independently of the others. In terms of how the legs move, gallop is actually very similar to canter, except that the opposite pair of legs do not hit the ground together.
The sequence of leg movement is actually the same in both gaits, but in canter two of the legs hit the ground at the same time, and at the gallop, they are a split second apart.
The canter and gallop are both very fast gaits of the horse. When it comes to horse canter vs gallop, the gallop is faster and uses much more energy. In the wild, a horse will only gallop for as long as is necessary to escape from danger.