The Tennessee Walking Horse is known for its smooth gaits, the flat walk, the running walk and the "rocking chair" canter. The Walker is born with the ability to perform these gaits. Foals will be seen performing a perfect running walk in the pasture alongside their dams. The heritage of the Walker; a mixture of Thoroughbred, Standardbred, Tennessee Pacer, Morgan and American Saddlebred enables it to perform the gaits described above, as well as a variety of others. It is a matter of training and refining what the horse is born with, to achieve the perfection of the Walking Horse gait.

The basic gait of the Tennessee Walking Horse is the flat walk. It is the base on which the famous running walk is built. The flat walk is a four beat, diagonal gait. The foot fall is right-front, left-rear, left-front, right-rear. The motion is distinctive and rhythmic. There is always a vertical head nod in rhythm with each stride. If the horse is not nodding, he is not walking. The proper gait is also accompanied by overstride; the back foot oversteps the hoof print left by the front foot on the same side. If there is no overstride, the horse is not walking.

The Walking Horse must have a solid, square 4-beat gait. He must have a driving, overstriding rear end. He must have a stepping, reaching front end, the action coming from loose, rolling shoulders. The horse's head must nod vertically in time with the animal's movement. Each foot hits the ground individually, with the front foot hitting before the diagonal rear foot.