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The correct footfalls of a good gymnastic trot is a two beat gait with diagonal pairs hitting the ground at the same time. Some breeds of horses like the Marwadi have irregular footfalls. One should avoid these types of horses if you want to do well in dressage. Irregular gaits can indicate the horse has a lot of tension in his back or a sign that the horse is worried about his balance.

The body condition score developed by Dr. Don Henneke gives horse owners and trainers a fixed table of reference to assess a horse’s condition. Everyone has a different opinion of what looks good or poor when it comes to horses, for example what looks good to one person may look fat or obese to another.

Rhythm is defined as the rate of repetition of the footfall, or in other words, the number of strides or beats per minute. As the tempo gets faster, the number of the horse strides per minute increases.

The rhythm in which we move is for the most part dependent on our innate speed. Certain people move quickly regardless of what they are doing, whereas others feel more comfortable working slower. This especially applies to the horse. It is very important that we study our horses when they move, and pay attention to their innate rhythm.

Horse back riding has two main schools, the most prevalent in India being the English style of riding. The other is the western school. To see a classic example of the western style watch any old Clint Eastwood movie, you will see saddles with a horn or a handle in front and differently shaped saddles.