jog trot

The jog trot is a kind of careful, deliberate trot that is sometimes required at horse shows, among other things. Jog is thought to have come from an alteration of shog, a verb meaning "to shake" or "to jolt" and used primarily in dialect. Trot has been part of English since the 14th century. The phrase jog trot, which first appeared in print in 1796, developed a figurative sense as well; it can refer to a steady and usually monotonous routine, similar to the slow, regular pace of a horse at a jog trot. There is a suggestion with the generalized sense that the action is uniform and unhurried, and perhaps even a little dull.