What is the correct rhythm of the walk in dressage?

The correct walk in dressage is a four-beat gait in which the horse's feet strike the ground in a clear, regular sequence: left hind, left fore, right hind, right fore — four equally spaced footfalls that produce a regular four-beat sound when the horse moves across a hard surface. This clear four-beat sequence, with each footfall distinct and evenly timed, is the defining characteristic of a correct walk and the standard against which any walk is evaluated. The walk should show clear overtrack in working and collected versions — the hind foot stepping into or beyond the print left by the corresponding front foot — and the horse's body should show the characteristic lateral swing of a genuinely active, free walk, with the horse's head and neck nodding in rhythm with the footfalls. The walk is considered the most difficult gait to improve and the easiest to damage because its four-beat regularity is easily disrupted by tension, overbending, or inappropriate rein contact that causes the horse to lose the clear four-beat sequence and begin to pace — moving both legs on the same side simultaneously rather than in the diagonal pairs of a true walk. Even a slight tendency toward a lateral walk, in which two feet on the same side move closer to simultaneously than they should, significantly reduces the walk score because it indicates tension or training error that has compromised the gait's fundamental regularity. The collected walk is particularly susceptible to this error, which is why many trainers are cautious about asking for collected walk too early in training before the horse has the physical development and mental relaxation to maintain the four-beat rhythm under the increased collection demand.