The right hind foot now strikes the ground, and one half of the stride is accomplished; these movements are repeated with a change of the limbs for the remaining portion of the stride, and the horse is again in the position in which we first observed him.
We shall see by reference to stride No. 5 the consecutive supporting feet to be:
- The left hind foot.
- The left hind and left fore feet—laterals.
- The left fore foot.
- The left fore and right hind feet—diagonals.
- The right hind foot.
- The right hind and right fore feet—laterals.
- The right fore foot.
- The right fore and left hind feet—diagonals.
The right fore foot being raised, the horse is again in the first position.
The amble and the walk are the only regular progressive movements of the horse wherein the body is never without the support of one or more legs, in all others the weight is entirely off the ground for a longer or shorter period.
The Rack or Pace.
The rack differs from the trot in the nearly synchronous action of the laterals instead of the diagonals.
In some countries the rack is naturally adopted by the horse as one of his gaits, but it is probably caused by the effects of training exercised over many generations of his ancestors.
The movements already described are regular in their action, and a stride may be divided into two parts, which are essentially similar to each other.