Gait Evaluation
A horse's walk and trot are most useful in gait analysis. The veterinarian looks for signs, such as shortening of the stride, irregular foot placement, head bobbing, stiffness, weight shifting, etc. The walk makes it easier to observe slight deviations that aren't readily apparent at a faster pace. However, the trot is perhaps most useful for evaluating lameness because it is the simplest gait, consisting of a two-beat stride pattern, and because the horse's weight is distributed evenly between diagonal pairs of legs. In some cases the speed and concussion of a faster pace (i.e. canter, gallop) is needed to help demonstrate the lameness.
Read more about this topic: Flexion Test
Famous quotes containing the words gait and/or evaluation:
“Wise men read very sharply all your private history in your look and gait and behavior. The whole economy of nature is bent on expression. The tell-tale body is all tongues. Men are like Geneva watches with crystal faces which expose the whole movement.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Evaluation is creation: hear it, you creators! Evaluating is itself the most valuable treasure of all that we value. It is only through evaluation that value exists: and without evaluation the nut of existence would be hollow. Hear it, you creators!”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)