The notion of gallop refers to the gait of a horse that reaches a greater speed than a trot . The horse, when galloping, moves by jumping and, at certain moments of its progress, remains with all its legs in the air (that is, without support on the ground).
If the animal advances in a rhythmic manner and without achieving great speed, it is called a sustained gallop or half canter . On the other hand, when it reaches its maximum speed when running, it is a straight gallop .
The gallop, in short, is a gait : a way of walking of the quadruped that is usually tamed. Although this meaning of the term air is not very common outside the field of racing and dressage professionals, it is accepted by the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, and in fact it includes in its meaning all solipeds (animals that They have a single finger with a nail called a helmet ) in addition to other quadrupeds that humans usually tame to use as a means of transportation.
This air has different times and its speed depends on the characteristics of the horse. Racing animals, for example, can gallop much faster than other horses that are not prepared for competition.
The slowest gait of the horse is the gait , which can be developed as a free, medium, collected or long gait. In this case, there are always two hooves on the ground simultaneously. If the animal increases its speed, it begins to trot. There is the working trot, the collected trot, the medium trot and the long trot. The next step, as the speed increases again, is the gallop. Unlike the other gaits, in the gallop there is a pause , as it is known as the moment in which the animal has all four hooves in the air.
For many horse riding lovers, the gallop is the air that gives off the most beauty, both due to the fluidity of the horse's movements and the experience of the rider. In part it is due to the dynamism with which the horse raises its hooves from the ground and the constant rhythm with which it moves over the ground, two characteristics of the gallop that make it seem like a dance in which neither of the two parties must do anything. effort. In fact, there are those who compare it to the feeling of flying.
This does not mean that it is easy to achieve a good gallop. Given the sequence of steps in this gait, it takes horses time and practice to master it and execute it naturally. Among the points to be resolved are muscle strength, resistance, balance and coordination.
It is important to note that galloping requires the horse to stretch the dorsal muscle , which causes it to shake. On the other hand, you must also make a particular movement with your head to maintain balance that you cannot achieve if you are not relaxed.
For the rider, it is especially difficult to go from trot to gallop. The first thing you need to do is relax and learn to control the horse. The stirrups must be well adjusted so that the rider can stand firmly. After jogging for a few minutes, you should gradually increase the speed and let yourself be carried away by physics, so that your body waves and does not remain attached to the chair.
The expressions “a gallop” , “al gallop” or “de gallop” , on the other hand, allude to an action that is carried out quickly. For example: "The storm front is approaching our city at a gallop" , "This ruler became rich at a gallop from corrupt acts" , "We cannot complete such a big deal at a gallop" .