The Main Features of Measurements 297 



close together in both the trot and the pace. In the trot it shows the 

 overreaching of the hind, in the pace it shows the distance of the lateral 

 feet as they move together. Fig. 210 gives the overstep of the trot in 

 brackets. The distances need not be computed, but may serve as an 

 immediate indication of unequal extensions if they appear unequal. 

 This is easily detected by the eye, because they are close enough together 

 to discover it at a glance as we walk along the line. If these distances, 

 therefore, are unequal, or very much greater on one side, we suspect 

 that either the hind foot points forward too much or that the fore 

 points back too far ; in other words, that the swing of those two legs is 

 not the same. The shorter distance of the overstep on the opposite side 

 would point to the other extreme, namely, that the hind leg lacked for- 

 ward extension or that the fore had excessive forward extension. Let 

 us consult the diagram showing the distances from one fore to its op- 

 posite mate and from one hind to its opposite mate (Fig. 211). The 

 illustration presumes the regularity of extensions, but it may become 

 more apparent from Fig. 212 (which notes the distances between the 

 diagonal feet in the trot) that, even though the overstep may be un- 

 equal on both sides, the distance between the diagonal feet may be the 

 same for both pairs of feet. For if, for instance, the overstep on the 

 right side is one foot longer than on the left side or the overstep on 

 the left side correspondingly shorter, it is still possible for the dis- 

 tances of the diagonal feet to be the same. 



In Fig. 212 we may think of the block contained within the top and 

 bottom cross-lines and the diagonal line connecting the correlated feet 

 of the trot as being moved up toward the block holding the other pair 

 of correlated feet, and thereby increase the overstep on the right side 

 and diminish the same on the left side without changing the equality 

 of these diagonal distances so moved. AH this, however, amounts to a 

 preliminary inspection of the tracks. The real test lies in the measure- 

 ments and the averages. Taking, for instance, an actual trial where 

 the stride was 18.1 ft. and the oversteps were found to be: 



Near side : 5.24 ft. 



Off side : 4.42 ft. 

 we have a difference of 0.82 ft, or 9.84 inches as an excess on near side. 



