Ambling horses are now uncommon in Europe. They were effectively replaced by trotting horses for several reasons. The first was that travel by
carriage became more common, and trotting horse breeds were generally larger and stronger, more suited to the job at hand. Another reason was the rise of the
Thoroughbred and other breeds developed for
horse racing and for light
cavalry, both of which required horses able to
gallop for substantial periods of time. Breeds swift at the gallop also tend to trot rather than pace or amble.
The smooth ambling gaits today have many names, including the single-foot, the stepping pace, the tolt, the rack, the paso corto, and the fox trot (see
ambling). Though ambling horses are less common today than in the
Middle Ages, there are still many ambling
breeds, particularly in
North America where today they are referred to as
gaited horses. Some of these breeds include the
Missouri Fox Trotter,
Tennessee Walking Horse,
Icelandic horse and a sub-group within the
American Saddlebred. The
Paso Fino and the
Peruvian Paso, breeds developed in
Latin America, perform two or three different ambling gaits of varying speed, and are probably the closest modern descendants of the medieval palfrey.