<P> Ideally, the advancing rear hoof oversteps the spot where the previously advancing front hoof touched the ground . The more the rear hoof oversteps, the smoother and more comfortable the walk becomes . Individual horses and different breeds vary in the smoothness of their walk . However, a rider will almost always feel some degree of gentle side - to - side motion in the horse's hips as each hind leg reaches forward . </P> <P> The fastest "walks" with a four - beat footfall pattern are actually the lateral forms of ambling gaits such as the running walk, singlefoot, and similar rapid but smooth intermediate speed gaits . If a horse begins to speed up and lose a regular four - beat cadence to its gait, the horse is no longer walking, but is beginning to either trot or pace . </P> <P> Elephants can move both forwards and backwards, but cannot trot, jump, or gallop . They use only two gaits when moving on land, the walk and a faster gait similar to running . In walking, the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground . With no "aerial phase", the fast gait does not meet all the criteria of running, although the elephant uses its legs much like other running animals, with the hips and shoulders falling and then rising while the feet are on the ground . Fast - moving elephants appear to' run' with their front legs, but' walk' with their hind legs and can reach a top speed of 18 km / h (11 mph). At this speed, most other quadrupeds are well into a gallop, even accounting for leg length . </P> <P> Walking fish, sometimes called ambulatory fish, is a general term that refers to fish that are able to travel over land for extended periods of time . The term may also be used for some other cases of nonstandard fish locomotion, e.g., when describing fish "walking" along the sea floor, as the handfish or frogfish . </P>

How many miles does an elephant walk per hour