The trot is a two-beat diagonal gait — one of the four natural gaits of the horse — and arguably the most important gait for training purposes. Virtually every schooling session includes significant trot work, and the quality of a horse’s trot is assessed in every dressage test from Intro level to Grand Prix. Understanding what the trot is, how it works mechanically, and what good trot work looks like gives riders a framework for both evaluating and improving their horse’s way of going.
The Mechanics of the Trot
In trot, the horse moves its legs in diagonal pairs: the left foreleg and right hind leg move together, followed by a moment of suspension where all four feet are off the ground, then the right foreleg and left hind leg land together. This two-beat rhythm — one, two, one, two — is regular and bouncing, making it the most physically demanding gait for an unsupported rider to sit.
The moment of suspension between the diagonal pairs is one of the defining characteristics of a quality trot. A horse with good natural suspension appears to float briefly between each beat; a horse with a flat, low-stepping trot has little or no suspension. Suspension is partly a natural quality — certain breeds, particularly Warmbloods and Thoroughbreds, tend to have more naturally elevated and suspended trots — but it can be developed through correct training that builds strength, engagement, and impulsion.
Types of Trot
The trot encompasses a wide range of tempos and outline, from the relaxed working trot to the highly collected passage. The main variations are:
Working trot — the standard training pace used for everyday work. The horse maintains a steady rhythm, works into the contact, and shows reasonable activity behind. Working trot is the baseline from which all other variations are developed.
Collected trot — the horse takes shorter, higher steps, carries more weight on the hindquarters, and develops greater upward activity. Collection is not about slowing down; it is about redistributing energy from forward motion into elevated movement. Correct collection requires significant strength in the hindquarters and can only be developed progressively through training.
Medium trot — the horse lengthens the frame and the stride, showing clearly greater scope than in working trot while maintaining a round, connected outline. The strides are longer but not flat — the horse should push off the ground and show some elevation.
Extended trot — the horse’s maximum engagement of the hindquarters combined with maximum lengthening of the stride. In a true extended trot, the horse covers maximum ground per stride, the foreleg reaches forward and the hind leg tracks well up, and there is genuine impulsion driving from behind. Extended trot is a spectacular movement when executed correctly and a key element of advanced dressage tests.
Passage — the highly elevated, very collected trot movement of Grand Prix dressage, where the horse appears to almost mark time in slow motion with greatly increased suspension between each diagonal beat.
Rising Trot vs. Sitting Trot
Riders have two choices in how they absorb the bounce of the trot: rising or sitting. In rising trot, the rider rises from the saddle on one diagonal and sits on the other, alternating in rhythm with the horse’s movement. This is easier on both horse and rider, particularly for extended periods of work, and is the standard approach for most schooling and hacking. The correct diagonal — sitting when the outside foreleg is on the ground — helps maintain the horse’s balance on corners and circles.
In sitting trot, the rider remains in the saddle throughout, absorbing the movement through a relaxed lower back, deep seat, and following hips. Sitting trot demands a high degree of suppleness in the rider and is more demanding on the horse’s back. It is required in dressage tests and is an important tool for influencing the horse’s rhythm, tempo, and collection. Young or sensitive horses, or those with back soreness, should not be asked to carry a sitting trot for extended periods until they are strong enough to do so comfortably.
Trot Work in Training
Trot is the workhorse of the training session. Most lateral exercises — shoulder-in, travers, renvers, half-pass — are first taught and refined at trot, where the rhythm is controllable and the horse can process new demands without the additional complication of canter transitions. Transitions within trot — working to medium, medium back to working, or working to collected — are among the most effective exercises for building strength, responsiveness, and suppleness.
Poles and cavalletti at trot develop rhythm, proprioception, and back suppleness while keeping the work varied and engaging for the horse. A grid of poles set at approximately 1.3 m apart encourages the horse to step actively through with the hindquarters and lift through the back — both valuable qualities for any discipline.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I improve the quality of my horse’s trot?
The most effective approaches are transitions — both gait transitions (walk-trot-walk) and within-gait transitions (working to medium and back) — and exercises that encourage the horse to use its hindquarters more actively, such as shoulder-in, leg-yield, and cavalletti work. Straightness also matters: a horse that consistently falls in or out on circles is not engaging the hindquarters evenly, and this limits the quality of the trot. Building suppleness through consistent, correct work is more effective than any single exercise.
What is the correct rising trot diagonal?
The conventional rule for riding on a circle or tracking a rein is to rise when the outside shoulder goes forward — meaning you sit as the outside foreleg comes back to the ground. On the left rein (tracking left, circles going left), you should rise on the left diagonal (sitting as the left fore and right hind land together). Changing diagonal regularly on a straight line helps develop the horse evenly, and many instructors encourage riders to deliberately change diagonals during hacking to avoid one-sidedness.
Why does my horse rush in trot?
Rushing in trot usually indicates tension, lack of balance, or insufficient strength in the hindquarters. When a horse falls onto the forehand, it runs to compensate for the loss of balance — a bit like a person stumbling forward and having to speed up to stay upright. The solution is rarely to pull back with the reins; instead, work on establishing rhythm and relaxation through transitions, hill work to build hindquarter strength, and exercises like shoulder-fore that encourage the horse to carry more weight behind. A horse that consistently rushes may also be uncomfortable — saddle fit, bit fit, and back health are worth checking before assuming it is purely a training issue.