Walk A walk is a "four-beat" lateral gait in which a horse must have three feet on the ground and only one foot in the air at any time. The walking horse will lift first a hind leg, then the foreleg on the same side, then the remaining hind leg, then the foreleg on the same side. A rider on a trained horse gently squeezes the sides of the animal and releases the pressure on its reins in order to initiate a walk from a stationary position. To initiate a walk when a horse is trotting or proceeding at a faster gait, the rider gently applies pressure on the reins and sits more firmly in the saddle (or on the horse's back in the absence of a saddle), gently gripping the horse's sides with the thighs.