252 HANDBOOK OP THE TURF. 



feet ; and that of the trotter about seventeen feet. The stride 



of Eclipse was twenty-five feet ; Flying Dutchman and Volti- 



geur, in 1851, struggling head to head opposite York Strand, 



took a stride of twenty-four and a half feet. Martha Wilkes, 



in going a 2:09^ gait, made a stride of eighteen and a half feet. 



Actual measurement of strides shows that the stride is both 



extended and quickened, instead of quickened and shortened, 



when the speed is increased. 



The trotting stride is made up of tAvo supports and two flights. The 

 time of botli supijorls is alilve, and tlie tiiue of botli fliglits corre- 

 sponds. But tlie time of the supports is not the same as tliat of the 

 fliglits. With different trotting movements tlieir relative times 

 materially change. The dwelling-gaited horse, for instance, umluly 

 prolongs and supports. Just in proportion as the speed increases 

 the tiuje of the supports is lessened, and the length of the flights is 

 increased. The time of the supports and tlie time of the flights of 

 the two pairs of feet must necessarily correspond. But the length 

 of the stride of the hind feet, with reference to that of the front feet, 

 not only changes in the same horse at different rates of trotting 

 speed.but also changes decidedly in different horses. * * * In the 

 run tlie stride is divided in to five parts instead of two, as in the trot, 

 each limb taking its turn as supporter and propeller, with a scarcely 

 appreciable interval between; and an interval between the last 

 fore leg and the first hind one representing a fifth of the whole 

 stride. Each limb, therefore, works one-fitth of each stride and 

 rests the other four-fifths.— The Horse in Motion, J. D. B. Stillman. 



String". A number of horses; as, the horses from one 

 stable ; " a great string " ; the horses from a single stable shown 

 at a fair by themselves. 



String-halt ; Chorea. The involuntary contractions of 

 voluntary muscles, manifested by the sudden jerking up of one 

 or both hind legs when the animal is walking. Stringhalt is 

 not an unsoundness if the horse works well — it is only a 

 defect ; but if it results from an inflamed nerve, there is a 

 question if it is not then an unsoundness, and in all cases it is 

 best to have it excepted in warranty. 



Stud. A collection of horses; as, the royal stud, the 

 government breeding stud, a, private stud. 



Stvid Book. A book containing the pedigrees and 

 history of horses. The English Stud Book was established in 

 1791, and has been published annually ever since. The 

 American Stud Book, (AVallace's,) was first published in 1867 ; 

 and (Bruce's,) in 1873. See American Stud Book, Ameri- 

 can Trotting Register and Racing Calendar. 



Stviinhler. A horse which is habitually stumbling from 



faulty conformation, or in consequence of a weak, shuffling gait. 



Such a horse should never be used for saddle purposes. 



A nag that puts his toe down first is almost sure to be a stumbler. 

 —Training the Trotting Horse, Charles Marvin. 



Stumbling. There are two kinds of stumblers. The 



one lifts his foot, at the walk, without throwing his weight too 



