626 A MANUAL OF VETERINARY PHYSIOLOGY 



inclination of the toe upwards as the foot comes to the ground 

 is very marked. In slower trotting the foot comes down flat, but 

 with always an inclination for the heel to make the first contact. 

 When a horse is inclined to come on to the toe instead of the heel, 

 he at once stumbles, and this occurs when the muscles tire, when 

 the feet are too long, or the mobility of the joints impaired. 



The Amble is the nearest approach to a run ; it consists of a 

 short, quick series of steps, in which lateral and diagonal legs 



Fig. 205. — Notation of the Amble. 



are alternately employed, with no period of suspension — e.g., 

 there is no period during which the body is left without a leg on 

 the ground. It is best studied from the notation in Fig. 205, which 

 shows that it is executed by a pair of laterals, followed by a single 

 fore lateral, succeeded by a pair of diagonals, followed by a single 

 hind-leg and then a pair of laterals. From the fact that there is 

 I 2 3 4 never a period during which the 



body is without support, the 

 pace is an easy one for the horse ; 

 and as there is no thrust up- 

 wards into the air, it is an 

 especially easy pace for the rider, 

 who barely moves in his seat. 



In Pacing or Racking the horse, 



instead of using diagonal legs, 



, uses the lateral limbs, so that 



Fig. 206. — Notation of the 'Pace ... .. „ . . _ ,, 



or Rack.' °n i° re an0 - °n hmd are on the 



ground instead of off fore and 

 near hind (see Fig. 206). An animal may ,' pace ' both at the 

 walk and trot, in this respect resembling a camel. There is no 

 doubt that it is a perfectly natural movement for some horses ; 

 others are taught it. Some extraordinary velocities are recorded 

 in America with this gait. In fast paces the horse oscillates from 

 side to side ; the appearance is very unsightly, and racking is 

 not encouraged in preference to trotting. A defective leg which 

 will not stand trotting may stand ' racking.' 



