194 EQUINE LOCOMOTION 



The weight of the body, says Le Coq, " transmitted by the canon 

 bone upon the upper articuUxting surface of the long pastern, is the resist- 

 ance to be overcome. The fulcrum is the ground at the toe of the foot, 

 and the power acts upon the sesamoid bones, which are at the back of 

 the pastern; the shortening of the flexor muscles being the cause of the 

 straightening of the angle formed by their tendons." The manner in 

 which this lever of the second order acts, keeping the distance between the 

 power and the weight constant, will be seen in the accompanying illustra- 

 tion; but there is much variation in their distance from the fulcrum, owing 

 to the difference of conformation in horses in respect to the slope of both 

 pastern and hoof 



The nearer the toe to the canon bone the 2:reater the mechanical 

 power, as in the short-jointed draught- horse, while greater length gives 

 more spring, and a long and sloping pastern is therefore esteemed in a 

 saddle-horse, and particularly in the race-horse, as contributing to greater 

 speed. 



In addition to the flexion and extension enjoyed by the front limb, the 

 hind one has an outward movement, due to the shape of the astragalus, 

 and so designed to enable the stifle to move clear of the abdomen. This 

 facing outward of the hinge does not aftect the direct forward movement 

 of the hind-foot, nor is the screwing action of an old and worn horse due to 

 any failure of this portion of his mechanism. 



THE WALK 



If we accept the word time as meaning the number of separate steps in 

 each stride of a pace, we may describe the walk as one of four time, the 

 limbs moving one after another consecutively. 



Commencing, for instance, with the left fore-leg, the movements will be 

 in the following order: — 1, left fore; 2, right hind; 3, right fore; 4, left 

 hind. Or, as frequently happens with the horse which has no military 

 predilection for leading off with the left fore, but commences with any 

 leg, according to convenience, suppose him to commence with the left hind- 

 limb, the sequence will be — 1, left hind; 2, left fore; 3, right hind; 4, right 

 fore. Each foot follows the one which precedes it in something like half 

 the time it takes to make one step. 



As a result of these movements, the order in which the body is sup- 

 ported by the several limbs is as follows: — 1, right pair; 2, right diagonals; 

 3, left pair; 4, left diagonals (Plate LVII). 



