The working walk, used for both equitation classes on the flat and under saddle classes, is a four-beat gait in which the horse travels approximately four miles per hour, or 352 feet per minute. Since the walk involves little pace, your upper body must be only a couple of degrees in front of the vertical to be with the motion at this gait.
In all gaits, the sequence of the feet is considered to start with a hind foot because the haunches are the horse's source of power. However, the sequence at the walk actually starts with one of the horse's forefeet. If the horse were asked to walk from the halt and began with its left forefoot, the sequence of footfalls would follow as right hind, right fore, left hind, left fore, and so on.
The feet are placed in rapid succession at the walk, so that at different moments in the sequence the horse's weight is supported by a diagonal pair of legs, a lateral pair of legs, or three legs. In the moments when the horse's body is supported only by a lateral pair of legs--that is, two legs on the same side--its balance is unstable. It moves its head and neck upward and inward to maintain its balance until the other legs are placed to help support its weight, at which moment the horse's head and neck drop and move forward again. These backward and forward motions of the head should be followed by your hands when the horse is in a long or medium frame at the walk. When the animal is collected into a short frame, the elevation of its shoulders, head, and neck helps it to keep its balance during the moments of potential instability, and there is very little back and forth motion of the head.