FATIGUE FROM THE VARIOUS PACES. 55 



and amble, two feet touch the ground during each step. From this we may 

 conclude that the canter is a faster pace, naturally, than the trot or amble. 

 I am aware that this is not the case with many horses which have been 

 specially trained for match-trotting and match-pacing; but that fact does 

 not bear b^n the subject in question. Of all paces, the gallop is the one in 

 which the equilibrium is most unstable ; for during each stride of it, the 

 centre of gravity is carried farther beyond the base of support (Fig. 144) 

 than at any other pace. Besides, at each step in it, there are fewer feet 

 together on the ground than at any other pace. 



As it is imperative that the body of an animal intended for speed should 

 be as light as possible, provided he has sufficient bone and muscle to meet 

 his requirements ; the preponderance of weight on the fore hand should be 

 obtained by conformation, and not by any approach to "heaviness'* in 

 that part. 



Fatigue from the various Paces.— In comparing the fatigue 

 undergone during certain paces, we must be guided by the consideration of 

 the respective distances through which the centre of gravity of the body has 

 to be moved. Let us first of all consider its vertical, and afterwards its 

 horizontal, displacement out of the straight line of the direction in which it 

 has to travel. In the walk and at all other paces in which there is no 

 period of suspension (p. 80), it is carried nearly parallel to the ground, 

 with only a slight fall when each fore leg is taken up. At paces in which 

 there is a period of suspension, the centre of gravity will have to be raised 

 just as much as it will fall during that time. This fact is best marked in 

 jumping ; for in making even a long leap, the centre of gravity will have to 

 be raised a considerable height Thus, when Howard of Bradford, the 

 famous jumper and sprinter, leaped over a full-sized billiard-table lengthwise, 

 he was computed to have cleared a height of five feet four inches. Hence, 

 animals like the antelope and cheetah, which adopt, when going at full 

 speed, a leaping style of gallop (p. 106), can keep it up only for a short 

 time. This fact is particularly well marked in the case of the kangaroo. 

 For the same reason, a horse can go a distance with more ease to himself 

 at a slow trot (which has no period of suspension), than at the iSying trot 

 (p. 83) or gallop (p. 94), in both of which there is a period of suspension. 

 Not alone does the consideration of the comparative rise and fall of the 

 centre of gravity give us an idea of the relative fatigue undergone during 

 the various paces ; but it also furnishes us with a guide to judge of the 

 comparative ease with which different horses move at the same pace. Con- 

 sequently, we may conclude that the more " level " a horse goes, whether at 

 the fast trot, gallop, or other pace, the less will he fatigue himself: a fact 

 which proves how thoroughly reasonable is the admiration every good judge 

 has for a " level" style of movement — ^that is, one in which there is the least 

 possible^rise and fall of the fore hand at each stride. I have purposely used 

 the word '' fore hand " here. When noting whether the action of a horse is 

 level or not, we are usually guided by the presence or absence of up-and-down 



