630 THE EXTERIOR OF THE HORSE. 



(t) A 



I ^ . bidets (Vallure or de haul pas, are at present somewhat 

 I jk p scarce ; but before the construction of railroads they were 

 prized by horse-dealers, and, in general, by all persons 

 who had to travel very long distances. They were sought 

 for on account of their pleasant gait, the rapidity of which 

 almost equalled that of the ordinary trot. 



Mazure^ has indicated their conformation, if indeed 

 AY^ I such a word is appropriate ; for in truth a great muscular 



P/\ I development, a somewhat large head, a powerful neck, 



I ; rather horizontal than erect, loins short and strong, above 



I ; all, a thigh thick, long, and descended, do not constitute 



I I a particular conformation allied to this special gait. 



I I The trail (Fig. 221) shows, as in the case of the 



short trot, the posterior imprints placed behind the an- 

 terior; the difference resides entirely in the diminished 

 length of the step. 

 I ! This gait may be natural or ariificial ; in the latter 



I ; case the horse is dressed by trammelling him in diagonal 



J ! bipeds by means of a strap attached to the pasterns, and 



J ! urging him as much as possible without passing into the 



. iK ; trot, which is not without difficulty. 



p A 1 It would seem that all horses do not execute this gait 



1 ; in the same manner. According to Lecoq, there were 



I ; some in Normandy which were called skaters (patineurs)^ 



I : and in which the beats, almost equally separated, differed 



; ; only from those of the normal walk by their rapidity 



; ; and a lesser elevation of the members. These animals 



: ^ A fatigue the rider much more than those with the ordinary 



\ ^ p running walk, by the rocking which they occasion. 

 • I 

 I I 



•' ; C— The Walk. 



j ; Definition. — The walk is a slow, marched gait, in 



! ; which the four members succeed each other diagonally^ 



A (■) I rise and touch the ground separately, and produce four 



^.^..J equally-spaced beats. 



Fig 221. -Trail Kinematic Analysis of the Play of the Members.— 



of the running ^ru u j • i 



walk, from Le- ^ '^^ "'^^y resting always upon the ground in the walk, there is 



noble du Teil. not, during the contact, a period of dispersion as energetic as in 



> I^Iazure, M<;moires de la Soci6t6 v6t6rinaire des d6partements du Calvados et de la Manche, 

 1837, p. 134. 



