THE HORSE TN MOTION 



51 



vantage, when trying to draw a heavy load, will naturally 

 endeavor to move the levers of his limbs (when straighten- 

 ing them out) with the power as nearly as possible at right 

 angles to each respective lever. Hence he will obtain his 

 results by only slight bending of the joints, and conse- 

 quently his steps will be short. "We may see this action of 

 levers of the hind limbs well shown by the manner in which 

 he will crouch down behind when he makes a strong effort 

 with his hind legs, while exerting the forelegs but little, 

 as may occur when the roadway is slippery. The galloper, 

 on the contrary, will require the power of straightening 

 out his limbs to their utmost extent, and will thus obtain 

 speed at a lavish expenditure of muscular effort. This is 

 especially well shown in the action of the fetlock joint; 

 for if the pastern be long and sloping, the mechanical dis- 

 advantage will be great, but the gain in speed will be 

 equally large. If the pastern be upright, the fetlock will 

 work advantageously as far as the weight to be moved is 

 concerned, but it will contribute little to the attainment of 

 speed." The locomotion of the horse passes through vari- 

 ous degrees of speed from a walk to a gallop. Every 

 healthy horse must possess at least two classes of speed, 

 as for example, a walk and trot. The horse, however, has 

 the power of locomotion in a variety of forms that inti- 

 mately relate to service and value. The following defini- 

 tions and discussions relate to the horse in motion, and 

 should be understood by one who expects to qualify as a 

 judge of this animal. 



The stride is the distance traversed from where the foot 

 leaves the ground until it again rests upon it. It is the 

 action of the individual leg, and therefore we may also 

 refer to the stride as the distance passed over by the limb 

 from the beginning of flexing when the foot is raised from 

 the ground, to the greatest extension following this move- 

 ment. In the stride, when the foot hits the ground, noise 

 will result on a hard surface, which is known as the beat, 

 a familiar sound in the concussion of horses' hoofs on hard 



