THE GAITS IN PARTICULAR. 



509 



Disadvantages. — On the other hand, however, if 

 the ambling horse is fast, his step lacks sureness and safety. 

 Obliged to advance the members close to the ground, he 

 is liable to knock against the inequalities of the soil ; as 

 a consequence, he frequently stumbles, and it requires the 

 continual attention of the rider to select the road and to 

 support him when he makes a false step. 



Conformation. — A strong and muscular frame, a 

 wide chest, short loins, strong articulations, irreproachable 

 axes, and perfectness of action of the members will counter- 

 balance the inconveniences accruing from the instability of 

 his equilibrium and the lowness of his gait. 



Broken Amble. 



We will call, with Vallon and Merche, the broken 

 amble that variety of the amble in which the members, 

 still associated in lateral bipeds, reach the soil successively, 

 the posterior a little before the anterior, producing thus 

 four beats and leaving also four imprints on the ground. 

 The only difference between this gait and the ordinary 

 amble is that in the latter the lateral lifting and resting of 

 the feet are simultaneous, while in the former they are 

 effected separately with a short interval. It follows, then, 

 that the posterior imprints, in position, surpass much less 

 the anterior, since the hind-foot is arrested behind the point 

 where it would go if it met the soil at the same time as 

 the fore-foot. 



Fig. 199 represents the trail of the broken amble, 

 according to M. Lenoble du Teil,' who, in his classifica- 

 tion, calls the latter broken walk. 



The disassociation of the lateral beats, AD, PD and 

 AG, PG (Fig. 200), gives origin to complex supplement- 

 ary bases (2, 3, 4 and 6, 7, 8), which are interposed between 

 the ordinary lateral bases (1, 5, 9 . . .), always of long 

 duration. Instruments will probably demonstrate among 

 these supplementary bases a diagonal base (3, 7 . . .) placed 

 between two very short tripedal bases (2 and 4, 6 and 

 8). If the periods of exchange of contact (2, 4, 6, 8 . . .) 

 are longer than we have supposed, the supplementary 

 bases will simply be tripedal. 



1 Lenoble du Teil, Etude sur la locomotion du cheval, etc. ; atlas, pi. vii. 



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Fig. 199.— Trail 



of the broken 

 amble. 



