# What IS a hand-gallop?



## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

I saw a thread that talked about it a bit, and a video that said it was a hand-gallop... but it looked like a canter.  Is it just a fast canter? Or am I missing something? A canter is a canter, a gallop is a gallop. I just don't see how they can be one in the same? :?


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## kathryn (Jan 16, 2009)

Good question I was wondering the exact same thing!


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Yes, a hand gallop is a fast but controlled canter. It's basically the last gear you can hit before your horse lowers and goes into an all out 4 beat run. Some people also call it a high canter. If you watch horse racing, when the race ends, and the jockey stands up in the irons, the resulting slower gait is a hand gallop.


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## ThatNinjaHorse (Jul 26, 2009)

A hand gallop should be a 'controlled' gallop. The horse should lengthen its stide and speed up and change its stides to four beats, as if galloping. Generally the rider goes into a more forward seat and shortens the reins as you would when galloping. Though ive seen sometimes in shows just a fast canter is shown, sometimes due to space restrictions


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Oops, Ninja's right. My first sentence should end with the word gallop, not canter.


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## Amba1027 (Jun 26, 2009)

I've been wondering about this too... but now I am more confused as we seem to have gotten two contradicting answers...?

Nevermind, we posted at the same time.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

If it helps add to the confusion at all, I just googled hand gallop and got 50/50 answers, some saying it's a 3 beat gait and other saying it's 4. It pretty much is as fast as you can get without breaking into an all out run.


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Basically the hand gallop differs from the true gallop in that your horse shouldn't speed up enough to lose the three-beat of a canter. It's meant to show a horse's manners & training (for ex; ina jumping/hunter class)


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

lilruffian said:


> Basically the hand gallop differs from the true gallop in that your horse shouldn't speed up enough to lose the three-beat of a canter. It's meant to show a horse's manners & training (for ex; ina jumping/hunter class)


Ooh, good description.


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

Don't forget to add that a Hand Gallop is a gait where the horse works off of their hind end, without allowing your horse to go flat and heavy on the forehand.

Hand Gallop, you also want to get up off of your horses back to free the back. A Hand Gallop is not a seated gait, it is where the rider is up in a functional two point position.

You see Eventers doing a Hand Gallop between fences.

Here is a video of my horse and I out on CC, and you can see a Hand Gallop:


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

Hmm, interesting... so it is a fast canter? Haha. I guess it makes sense. Instead of giving my horse her head and letting her go, it's basically me still holding her back and maintaining contact. Right?


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

You are asking for your horse to come up into your seat every upstride your horse makes, with your legs. 

It isn't about holding your horses face, you want to allow your horse to use his/her body properly, by using yours correctly.

Your seat is slightly out of your tack, with your tail bone tucked under you, core activated, tall upper body with your chest open as though you are lifting your heart. You want to obtain and maintain that energy from behind.

Your upper body keeps your horse from going onto their forehand, your legs are keeping the energy and keeping your horses back round and up into your seat, while maintaining that impulsion from behind.


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

Aha! I see! Thanks so much, that painted it all very nicely for me. =]


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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

_MIE--You always give great descriptions of what he rider is supposed to be doing and it is so awesome! Makes it so much easier to understand _


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

I am glad that I am able to help VelvetsAB


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## upnover (Jan 17, 2008)

According to Wikipedia...

Trot: ~8 mph
Canter: 10-17 mph
Gallop: 25-30 mph


In a clinic I saw George Morris described the hand gallop as a 3 beat canter ridden at 14-16 mph.

So basically a fast but controlled canter. But to do it well, read MIE's description. (It is possible to have a crappy hand gallop, heavy on the forehand and such)


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## RodinKy (Aug 20, 2010)

I'm glad someone finally answered this, I have been wondering what it was since it was called for one time in a show I had entered and I didn't have a clue.


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

You were more than likely in a "Road Hack" class eh? I remember them asking for a Hand Gallop when I used to do Flat Shows back in the day.

It is a very useful gait, many Eventers use this gait bewteen fences out on the CC course.


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