Tölt is a special gait that not every horse can master. There are horses that have a genetic predisposition to tölt. The gait tölt is for example the cradle of the Icelandic horses, it is not mastered by all horse breeds from birth. However, this gait can also be taught to other horses. One assumes that originally all horses had a predisposition to tölt. In the time when carriages became popular, riding became unfashionable. Therefore, horses were needed that ran well in front of the carriage and performed well. The trot was best suited for this, therefore one changed the breeding to trotters. Only after the Second World War, the tölt was rediscovered with the spread of the Icelanders.
The tölt is a four-beat in eight phases, the horse is carried alternately by one or two legs. In the tölt no suspension phase is present, one speaks here of a running gait with which always ground contact exists. The movement of the tölt is characterized by a pronounced knee action and a hindquarters that is far undercut. The horse moves in tölt in an upright position. The pace of the tölt can vary greatly, from canter to walking pace.
For the rider, the tölt is a particularly comfortable gait in which the horse takes a seat in the saddle. This gait is especially suitable for people with back problems. In the tölt a high degree of body tension and balance is demanded of the rider. The horse runs softly when tölting and the rider can remain sitting calmly in the saddle without being shaken back and forth.
As the horse moves in an upright position when tölting, with pronounced hindquarters activity, it is also important for this gait to gymnastic the horse in advance and to achieve a certain willingness to assemble. When tölting, the horse should lift the knees as high as possible and keep the head upright.
