All horses move in four different gaits, but some have a distinctive movement that is different from the rest, so what does it mean when a horse is gaited?
When comparing a horse that gaits to a horse that moves like most, it is easiest to look at the trot. In a horse that does not gait the trot is two beats.
The gaited horse has a long history. The Icelandic Horse originates with the Viking settlement of Iceland and remains one of the purest horse breeds in the world. American gaited horses originate in the 1600s.