Re: Disunited Trot

Truman Prevatt (truman.prevatt@netsrq.com)
Fri, 20 Dec 1996 12:48:02 -0400

If the diagonal trot is broken into a four beat gait it is known as a
foxtrot or rack depending on many things - including speed. The rack is a
true even four beat gait. That is the foots falls are all separated by the
same amount of time. There is an continuum of footfall patterns between a
true trot and a true rack. The slow rack and the fast rack are the fourth
and fifth gaits of a five gaited saddlebred. Along with the saddlebred the
following horses will rack:
Tennessee Walking Horse, Morgan, Standardbred and Paso. I have been told
that there is also an Arabain boodline that tends to be "gaited", i.e. has
the tendency toward being able to rack. I belive this is the Raffles
bloodline.

While it is true that the horse only has one foot on the ground at any one
time, the rack is a smooth gait with no suspension. In a racking horse the
head of the rider traces out a stright line. Hence there is no increased
force on the legs cause by the absorbtion of the kenic energy generated by
the suspension of the trot. So as far as stress it is probably a wash.
The true rack is a fast gait. My walking horse can rack between 10 and 15
mph - this is fairly common for a rack. If a troting horse has a
predisposition to do this gait there are two places that will most likely
happen. Pushing the horse on at a trot while maintaining contact can cause
a transition into the rack. Riding a fast trot down mild downhills can
also cause a transition into a rack.

Truman

Truman Prevatt
Sarasota, FL