20 JUDGING LIGHT HORSES 



in the action of the high stepper or carriage horse as the latter 

 must keep his legs under him to gather himself together in the 

 proper degree. A wider spread in the movement of the hind 

 legs in the instance of the trotter is not as bad a fault as it 

 would be if associated with the carriage horse. It is frequently 

 noticeable as a distinction between the action of a trotter and 

 coacher, that the latter is balanced in stride when going an 

 easy gait but becomes unbalanced or weak when urged 

 beyond it, while the trotter may very often show an uneven 

 gait when moving slowly but when urged to the limit of its 

 speed, displays truly balanced action without any tendency 

 towards losing its stride. 



25. The Pacing Gait — Level and True. A study of this 

 gait will disclose the fact that there is more variations in it 

 than in any other form of action. Horses pace in many 

 ways, some lurching, others shuffling and many more wob- 

 bling in an unsightly manner; but, however they may go, they 

 are nearly all characterized by possessing speed. A level 

 and true pacer displays a sightly gait. In pacing level and 

 true the body remains steadier than in any other movement. 

 The legs move in harmony with the directness of a machine. 

 The nervy, machine-like pace peculiar to many of the fast 

 pacing animals is a study in the degree to which the mini- 

 mum of effort results in the maximum of speed. Some horses 

 pace because of bent hocks, others because of ungainly pro- 

 portion but when the gait results from breeding and is the 

 outcome of straight and direct movement, it is difl&cult to 

 imagine a gait with less friction or display of effort. In the 

 instance of the horse that possesses true excellence at this 

 gait, if you were to shut off your view of the limbs in motion, 

 you would have the impression that the animal was standing 

 on a rapidly moving train hidden from your view, so little 

 does the body and other parts above the line make any dis- 

 play of effort. As a rule the pace from the standpoint of the 

 spectator is an unsightly gait, but one that is usually 



