Do horses ever take all 4 hooves off the ground during the gaits?

Question

do horses ever take all 4 hooves off the ground.
if not please explain to me.

Answer 1

yeah horses have all 4 hooves off the ground at some point while runing.

Answer 2

In short...yes and yes. Horses often "throw shoes", and there is always the possibility that the nails can crack or otherwise damage the hooves, however, the odds of this can be greatly reduced if you are using an experienced farrier who knows the proper way to trim and shoe a horse according to the anatomy of the hoof and th angle of the pastern and leg. Think of the horses hoof wall (the part that the nails go into) as the long part of your fingernail that grows out passed the tip of your finger. Cutting, trimming or even drilling a hole through this part of your nail is not going to hurt or damage it. Now, I'm sure you have experienced a "hangnail" or maybe had a nail split or crack back in the "quick" area...this relates to the part of the horse's hoof that is sensitive and/or fragile. If a farrier gets a nail too far up or into the hoof, that can result in pain for the horse--this is called a "hot nail". Just like the human fingernail, all horses have different hooves and the strength of the hoof is individual to the horse. There are supplements that you can give to your horse to increase the strength and overall health of the hoof, which will reduce the possibility of cracking, chipping or losing a shoe. Some horses that require shoes have weak hooves that won't take nails, so the farrier will sometimes use glue or weld things like "clips" into the shoe that will allow for more stability when the shoe is attached. Shoeing does look like it could be painful if you don't really understand the things mentioned above. You have to realize that some horses are able to go "barefoot" and be ridden without incident, however, like people with foot problems, some horses require the extra support of a shoe to move properly. Horse shoes can do a variety of things, from the very simple, being a regular shoe to give a little extra protection, to a corrective shoe (to change the angle or shape of a hoof if it is not growing properly), pads (to add support to the bottom of the hoof), wedges (to give extra height in the heal), packing (goes between the shoe and the pad for extra softness and support), etc. Ideally, all horses would have perfect conformation and strong feet, allowing them to go without shoes on any terrain and doing any sport, but just like people not everyone is perfect. Performance horses like jumpers, reiners, dressage horses, etc. (just like human athletes) sometimes need specialized shoes in order to perform at thier peak. Hope this helps answer your question!

Answer 3

The gallop. It is called "suspension," when a horses' hooves are at the same time off the ground.

Answer 4

The older style Arabians had a floating trot that all 4 were off the ground, also in a Hand Gallop all 4 would also be off the ground

Hunter/jumpers when they go over fences

Saddlebreds when they spook

Answer 5

Yes, during the lope and gallop.

If you were to get a video camera and film your horse doing either of those and later watched it in slow motion, you would see that all four feet do come off the ground.

Answer 6

Yes, everyone here is correct. At the extended canter and gallop, all four feet commonly come off the ground, hence it is a 4-beat gait...Arabians do it at a trot because it is so elevated and extended and MANY dressage horses, warmbloods in particular, do this at their extended trots.

Answer 7

Wll some so. My arab has all four feet off the ground when he gets in to his BIG extended trot and some horses do when they canter. Bt if its some western pleasure quater horse then they probably dont. When hosres canter they usually have one foot on the ground but some have enough momentum to get all 4 off the ground. it pretty much depends on the horse and speed

Answer 8

even racing trotters have been photographed with all four feet off the ground, so I would say the only gait where horses do not have all four feet off the ground at one time or another would be a walk.

Answer 9

i think during the gallop, they breifly take all of their hooves off the ground

Answer 10

Yes, look at the photo finishes at the track. You can easily see all four feet off the ground at once.