124 Gait of the American Trotter and Pacer 



ought not do likewise, nothing is done to make hind legs do otherwise, 

 and there lies the trouble. 



In a previous chapter I have tried to show the difference between 

 the curves of motion of fore and hind. The fore, by the nature of 

 their flexion, will describe a longer and higher curve, while the hind, 

 incapable of as great a flexion, describe a lower and more direct curve ; 

 and it will 'be noticed in the pictures of the horses in motion that while 

 the hind foot does and should strike the ground together with its 

 correlated fore foot, it does leave the ground often a little after the 

 fore; and, again, wherever it does so there is a good backward ex- 

 tension and a good action of the hind legs. 



At all times when a horse is going squarely, whether trotting 

 or pacing, and. is balanced well, the fall of each pair of feet should 

 take place exactly at the two time-beats. No irregularity about such 

 synchronous contact of the two correlated feet can or should possibly 

 exist when the gait is perfect. 



This lingering backward contact of hind would therefore indicate 

 that wherever we induce the legs especially the hind ones to extend 

 forward to excess we lose this full effect of propulsion ; that is, we 

 lose the necessary backward extension during which propulsion seems 

 to be and is far more effective. Such equalizing of fore and hind 

 action is not an easy matter of a few weeks, but will take months. It 

 should be done during the winter months, when shoeing and gaiting is 

 only too often lost sight of and neglected. It is then just as important 

 as it is shortly before meetings, for time is an essential factor in any 

 attempts at balancing. This is the more rational period to produce the 

 greater separation between fore and hind than all subsequent attempts 

 in a hurry can possibly be. On the whole, I think it reasonable not to 

 over-develop the action of fore and to pay more attention to the greater 

 development of hind action. The usual advice given about the inter- 

 ference of hind with fore and it sounds as wise as it is indefinite 

 is "to quicken and round up his action in front and shorten his stride 

 behind." Stress should be laid again on the entirely erroneous ex- 

 pression of "shortening the stride." In another place I have taken 

 exception to this idea of "stride," for we cannot shorten the stride of 



