The Gallop

Motion

The gallop is the fastest of the four natural gaits of a horse. The gallop is a 4-beat movement similar to the canter. The gallop feels like a very fast canter except the horse's legs move one at a time.

Sit the Horse

When you ride at the gallop, rise slightly out of the saddle and put all your weight in your heels.
As soon as the horse is moving at a gallop, loosen your reins so that there is some slack.

On June 19, 1878 Eadweard Muybridge created the classic photographic sequence of a horse in motion at the gallop. It consists of sequential photographs capturing a single stride of a thoroughbred mare.