This part of the site will feature conformational analysis of gaited horses. I've prepared these in such a way that each horse has been 'charted out.' You should be able to study them, and learn just how to assess a horse for its natural, or innate gait, based on conformation. This is an extremely valuable tool when assessing a horse for purchase.

One thing that should become immediately clear is that horses aren't always built to perform the gait for which they are registered and bred. A Missouri Fox Trotting Horse may well be inclined toward the rack or running walk, while a Tennessee Walking Horse may prefer to fox trot. This is true regardless of the animal's breed: Icelandic, Paso Fino, Peruvian Paso, Mountain Horses. . .virtually every kind of gaited horse should be assessed on its individual gait inclinations, and not purchased simply because it's a breed that is 'supposed' to perform this or that particular gait. There's wide genetic variety within each breed. Even Peruvian and Icelandic horses, which have been bred true for hundreds of years, have various strains, or genetic phenotypes, from different regions of their respective countries.