The Harmony in a Gait 269 



the positions of Fig. 197, become immediately apparent to the observer. 

 The drawings were orginally made from photographs, as the open 

 mouth of the animal will indicate. In Fig. 199 we see A meeting B, 

 but the latter is not found on the ground but well up, because the mo- 

 tion of B is not independent of the other feet, but intimately related or 

 correlated to that of the diagonally opposite hind foot D. With the 

 horse fully in the air there is visible in each of these positions the equal 

 closing and opening between the fore and the hind on each side. The 

 hind foot A passes under the fore foot B on the same side, as has been 

 discussed before. 



Again, in the second position of Fig. 199 the hind foot A, though 

 lower in elevation than its correlated fore foot C, is not quite extended, 

 so that while the /ore foot C is descending the hind foot has still time 

 to straighten out and strike the ground heel first. This shows that there 

 is a harmonious action between the two feet that travel together, 

 for these must strike the ground at the same time. The time-beat of 

 the trot and the pace should be: one, two one, two; while the time- 

 beat of the single- foot, or any of its imperfect variations, is : one, two, 

 three, four. And again, to make either the trot or the pace quite regular 

 the two time-beats must not be like those of a limping pendulum, with 

 the accent on the "one" or the "two." 



Assuming that the two horses given in Fig. 198 were one and the 

 same animal, we should, therefore, have the distance A C = D B, or at 

 least the averages of each for a number of strides should be alike or 

 very nearly so. 



Let me bring before the reader two cases of trotters showing the 

 ambling gait due to faulty or inadequate shoeing. As a preliminary re- 

 mark, and one that is borne out by many observations, I may state that 

 where excessive extension is found to be either with one leg only or with 

 the pair of hind and fore feet that do not move together diagonally 

 in the pacer and laterally in the trotter there is evidence of a mixed 

 gait, or lack of proper balance. 



The first case (Fig. 200), is that of Figs. 137 to 140 and 142 of 

 Chapter VI, where an excessive extension of the near hind was caused 

 by the inactivity of the off hind. Similar conditions exist in an inter- 



