Symmetrical Gaits of Horses

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Abstract
All gaits of horses except the canter and gallop have been described, distinguished and related to each other and to the similar gaits of 157 other genera of quadrupeds. A scheme for naming gaits has been devised. Any particular series of strides can be expressed in terms of 2 percentage figures. These figures can be plotted on a graph from which it is possible (with the use of overlays) to read out, for any performance represented, the sequence of footfalls and the sequence and relative durations of all combinations of support by the several feet. The method makes it possible to compare hundreds of records simultaneously and to ask (and answer) new kinds of questions about quadrupedal gaits: What is the nature and magnitude of variability? How many gaits are theoretically possible? Why are some of these not used? How, and why, do the various gaits correlate with body size, structure, and performance? What has been the phy-logeny of gaits ? The horse, as a species, is more versatile in the selection of gaits than is any other quadruped. It uses several gaits unique to itself. The various named gaits of horses are not distinct and independent but instead form a continuum within which boundaries are somewhat arbitrary and often based on factors of breed and style rather than on differences in the general manner of moving the legs. Limited data show no significant differences between the gaits of colts and adults. Variation in the performance of a given gait is roughly twice as great for the species as for individuals, and greater for artificial than for natural gaits.