THE GAITS IN PARTICULAR. 537 



carry, the nature and direction of the soil on which they move, and, 

 finally, the speed which they have, all these influences, in our opinion, 

 explain the modifications of the rhythm which arise in each instance, 

 and which should be considered as definite adaptations of the animals 

 to such or such a requirement of their utilization. 



That is the reason why we have, at the beginning of our study, 

 assumed the ordinary, the mean walk, that in which all the funda- 

 mental bases are equal and the beats equidistant. The absolutely sym- 

 metrical walk does not tend towards the amble more than towards the 

 trot, but it may lead to them by a series of modifications inherent to 

 the mode of relation of the beats. Then its rhythm changes, its sym- 

 metry disappears, and, at the same time, one of the fundamental bases, 

 the diagonal or the lateral, according as the gait inclines towards the 

 trot or the amble. 



Trails of the Walk and their Varieties. 1 If the rhythm 

 of the walk offers almost innumerable individual types, it is very evi- 

 dent that these should also convey their influence to the trail and 

 give to the latter, according to the case, the forms which tend to 

 bring them nearer the amble or the trot, two modes of progression 

 whose tracings over the ground differ essentially, as we know. It 

 must also be admitted that between the trail of the amble and that of 

 the slow trot there are as many particular variations as between the 

 two extremes of the rhythms of the walk. 



Without entering into the special study of these differences, we will 

 say that it is easy to relate them to one of the three forms of trails, 

 as follows : 



1. Sometimes, in fact, the posterior imprints are superposed upon 

 the anterior of the same side (Fig. 231), which causes them to be 

 styled juge or covered. 



2. Sometimes the posterior imprints are situated in front of the, 

 anterior for a variable distance (Fig. 232), and are then called mejuges 

 or over-covered. 



3. In other instances, finally, the reverse condition exists, the pos- 

 terior being located behind the anterior (Fig. 233), 2 which may be 

 designated as dejugee or ill-covered. 



1 Lenoble du Teil, Cours thgorique d'equitation. de dressage et d'attelage, p. 51 et suiv., 

 Paris, 1889, id. See, also, Revue des haras, Aout 15, 1889. 



2 The expressions elongated walk, ordinary walk, and shortened walk, by which many authors 

 characterize also the walk as represented respectively in Figs. 231, 232, and 233, should only be 

 applied to the absolute length of the steps which the same subject can take when his pace is 

 augmented or slackened, and not to the particular form of the trail. 



For example, a horse which describes the trail in Fig. 231 can very easily, according to the 

 manner in which he is led, take longer or shorter strides that is to say, the elongated or the 



