What does cadence mean in horse terms? And how important is it in horses training?

Cowboy~Lover~Rodeo~Cowgirly4life: What does cadence mean in horse terms? And how important is it in horses training?
I keep trying to look it up for what it means for horses and how important it is for horses training, but cannot seem to get a clear answer. So I ask, What does cadence mean in horse terms? And how important is it in horses training? Thanks.

Answers and Views:

Answer by OrphanAnnie
Basically…Rhythm.
It is very important. Actually extremely crucial.

Answer by zakiit
It means the rhythm of the strides and it is important because when the horse has a good cadence he is using himself well and sparingly. It makes him more comfortable to ride.

For example walk is 4 beats per stride and there should be an even foot fall.

Trot is two beats to the stride. He should be steady, even in his pace and cover the ground.

Canter is three beats.

Answer by gallop
It is the regularity of rhythm combined with impulsion and balance of the horse’s gaits/ movement. In dressage, cadence is extremely important. As you progress with a horse’s training into collected movements, maintaining balanced, regular rhythm and sustained impulsion are essential to the whole beauty and harmony of the movements performed. It’s like sustaining the rhythmic beat of footfalls without losing the energy of the movement as transitions from one gait to another, or one movement to another are performed.

Answer by funforlife95
Cadence is the balanced, rhythmic flow or the measure or beat of movement.

When the horse moves you can count four distinct hoof beats which produce a cadence of equal rhythm.

1. Walking- Four-beat gait
At the walk, the horse has three feet on the ground and only one in the air at any time. It places each foot on the ground in turn; first a hind leg, followed by the foreleg on the same side, then the other hind leg and finally the remaining foreleg.

2. Trotting- Two-beat gait
At the trot, opposite fore- and hind feet hit the ground together in turn to give a two-beat gate. The fact that only one forefoot or hind foot is bearing weight at any one time makes this the best gait to use to detect lameness.

3. Cantering- Three-beat gait
At the canter, two diagonal feet hit the ground together. The other two feet hit the ground separately, making a three-beat gate. One forefoot is followed by the opposite hind foot, then the other two feet together. There is a time when no feet are on the ground.

4. Galloping- Four-beat gait
This follows the same pattern as the canter, but the paired limbs do not hit the ground together. The hind limb lands slightly before the paired forelimb, making a four-beat gait. In the gallop and the canter, a horse can change which foreleg is leading.

You never want your horse to be “out of cadence” because it is easily detected by a judge while showing. Horses that are lazy are the ones most likely to be “out of cadence”, therefore, training for a constant motion is crucial with horses.

Horse gaits (with correct cadence):

Answer by paintgirl_h
Cadence is your horse’s natural rhythm. When your horse trots, does he have an even beat, like you’d hear on a drum, which goes “trot, trot, trot, trot,” or does his rhyrthm change ever few strides so it’s “trot…trot, trot, trot…trot” This applies to all three gaits, not just the trot. When a well broke horse with good cadence goes into the show ring, they move the same way every time the judge looks at them. A horse with poor cadence will be trotting slow part way around, then surge and speed up a bit, then slow down again, then maybe get too slow, then speed up again. Judges like to see them the same all the time, steady and consistent.
Is cadence important in horse training?
Well, it’s essential in a show horse. It probably isn’t essential in other disciplines. If you’re doing cattle work, an even rhythm comes in handy so you can rate your cattle, but it won’t be marked against you. Likewise, if you’re just trail riding you’ll probably find it easier and more comfortable to ride if your horse stays consistent, but it isn’t a matter of life or death! A horse that speeds up and slows down tends to leave you behind their movement, so it isn’t ideal.
So I would say cadence is important in all horses, but it is essential in a show horse, whether English or Western.