A normal gait depends on normal neurologic function, a functioning brain, spinal cord, spinal nerves, peripheral nerves, attachment of nerve to muscle, and muscle. If any of these things do not function properly, there will be a resulting gait abnormality. There is a great deal of normal variation in gait among horses depending on breed, training, hoof form or shoeing, and individual characteristics.

A moderate high-stepping hindlimb gait can be normal for particular horses, but it can also be caused by underlying conditions. When the gait is considered abnormal, it is called stringhalt, a poorly understood sign in which one or both hind limbs travels upward in a vertical snapping motion, with the foot coming far off the ground. This gait requires excessive flexion of the hock and stifle.

There are several known underlying conditions that cause this observation. Horses that have wounded the extensor tendons below the hock may develop this gait as the wound heals. Horses with hock arthritis and certain other lameness conditions may show this gait. In other cases, weed toxins may cause nerve damage leading to the development of stringhalt. Other conditions such as fibrotic myopathy and intermittent upward fixation of the patella can cause the appearance of a high stepping gait.