THE HORSE IN MOTION 



53 



stride relates to the time used in passing through the entire 

 movement of the limb. Speed or rapidity of stride is due 

 to various conditions, among which emphasis might be 

 placed on type and weight of horse, inheritance, energy, 

 gait, size and weight of foot, character of shoe, etc. ' * There 

 is an exact proportion between speed, length of toe and 

 energy/' says Jor- 

 dan, 4 * ' which might 

 well be expressed 

 by saying that the 

 longer the toe the 

 greater the amount 

 of energy neces- 

 sary to acquire the 

 same speed, and the 

 easier the leverage 

 at the toe, the less 

 will be the energy 

 required to main- 

 tain that speed. 

 Rapidity of action 

 or motion, it may 

 be argued, requires 

 as much and more 

 of that energy than the long, sweeping stride. ' ' 



The gaits of the horse under natural conditions are, the 

 walk, trot, pace and gallop. However, methods of training 

 have produced variations from these that are recognized 

 gaits. A full comprehension of the modified gaits, whereby 

 one may recognize them readily, is not easily obtained, and 

 can only be secured through careful study and observation. 



The walk is a slow four-beat gait, in which the limbs 

 move in sequence, one after the other. Usually a front foot 

 is raised first. The walk varies in style and character, and 

 Hayes has sub-divided it into five classes, as follows : 5 The 



Fig. 25. "The walk is a slow, four-beat gait." 

 (Courtesy American Breeder.) 



4 The Gait of the American Trotter and Pacer, 1910, p. 89. 



B The Points of the Horse. M. H. Hayes, 3d ed., London, 1904. 



