walk". Horse types with ambling ability included the valuable jennet and palfrey. By the 18th century, the amble was a topic of discussion among horse trainers in Europe, and the 1728 Cyclopedia discussed the lateral form of the gait, which is derived from the pace, and some of the training methods used to create it in a horse that did not appear to be naturally gaited. As roads improved and carriage travel became more common, followed later by railroads, riding horses that trotted became more popular in Europe; the dominant uses of riding horses came to include light cavalry, fox hunting and other types of rapid travel across country, but of more limited duration, where the gallop could be used. The amble was still prized in the Americas, particularly in the southern United States and in Latin America where plantation agriculture required riders to cover long distances every day to view fields and crops. Today, ambling or gaited horses are popular amongst casual riders who seek soft-gaited, comfortable horses for pleasure riding. As a general rule, while ambling horses are able to canter, they usually are not known for speed, nor is it particularly easy for them to transition from an ambling gait into the canter or gallop. Thus, in history, where comfort for long hours in the saddle was important, ambling horses were preferred for smoothness, sure-footedness and quiet disposition. However, when speed and quick action was of greater importance, horses that trotted were more suitable due to their speed and agility. When horses were used in warfare, particularly during the Middle Ages, it was not uncommon for a knight to ride an ambling horse to a battle site, then switch to a war horse for galloping into the actual battle. Types of ambling gaits All ambling gaits have four beats. Some ambling gaits are lateral gaits, meaning that the feet on the same side of the horse move forward, but one after the other, usually in a footfall pattern of right rear, right front, left rear, left front. Others are diagonal, meaning that the feet on opposite sides of the horse move forward in sequence, usually right rear, left front, left rear, right front. A common trait of the ambling gaits is that usually only one foot is completely off the ground at any one time. Ambling gaits are further distinguished by the timing and cadence of the