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Gaits are like different speed a horse can go. There are four gaits. These gaits are walking, trotting, cantering, and galloping. Walking is the slowest gait, then comes trotting which is kind of bouncy, then comes cantering which is a smooth gait, and the fastest, galloping. In western riding there are different names for the gaits. Some horses have rough trots and others have a smooth one.
The riders below are demonstrating different gaits.

Walking





Trotting





Cantering






Galloping

There are different kinds of horseback riding. Some of the different kinds are English and Western. In English and Western riding there are different activities for the riders to participate in. In English there is jumping and dressage. In Western there is barrel racing and rodeos. Riders dress different. These styles of riding are also different because of the bridle and saddle. Other differences are the names for different gaits like jogging and trotting.

The different saddles and bridles are shown below:



English





Western





You can probably see some differences between each saddle. On the Western saddle there is a horn. It is not for the rider to hold on to. Cowboys used the horn to help them rope cattle. The English and Western saddles have different names for the same parts, for example, the girth and cinch. I prefer English, while others prefer Western.

A horse cantering.