My understanding of pacing, in terms of working dog gaits (this coming 
from 35 years of owning and working with Newfoundlands in harness) is 
that it is a conpensation gait. The most efficient gaits are not pacing 
(as Catie mentions; you need to work efficiently if you are pulling a 
sled for 100 miles...), but when dogs are tired they may fall into a 
pace. Some dogs pace as their standard gait, but even then it may be 
conpensation - not for tiredness, but for not-perfect functional 
conformation. Or if a dog is forced to move at a speed that is not most 
efficient for it, it may pace (I see this occasionally with one of our 
present Newfs; her most efficient gait is faster than my standard walk, 
and sometimes when forced to go right at my speed (like when we meet 
other people on our long walks, and her lead comes off of where it lies, 
flopped across her shoulders, and into my hand) she will pace. I get her 
moving faster again, and she drops back to a trot. But our very best 
movers, and hence best workers/hauling dogs, have been ones that didn't 
ever pace.

Consie

Consie Powell
www.consiepowell.com
www.science-art.com
www.wincbooks.com





Bursch, Catherine M (DFG) wrote:
>
> I’ve spent hours on the back of a dog sled helping train them for the 
> Iditirod (backing my younger days). Sometimes one or two would ‘pace’. 
> It looks ugly and rough, as Dj mentions, and is considered less 
> efficient and strong if the animal has to pull. Dogs were sometimes 
> kicked off the team if they developed the habit of pacing. I guess 
> they can’t pull effectively for over 100 miles a day like they can at 
> a true trot. Interesting to look at the mechanics of it.
>
> Catie
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *From:* SciArt-L Discussion List-for Natural Science Illustration- 
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Dj Sproat
> *Sent:* Thursday, January 29, 2009 7:52 AM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Re: [SCIART] Animal locomotion article
>
> The single-foot is, essentially, a fast walk. It is a 4 beat gait. One 
> foot hitting the ground at a time. Because of this it is comfortable 
> since there is no up/down bounce or moment of suspension as there is 
> with the other faster gaits of trot/pace, canter and gallop. As with 
> the regular walk, a single-footer rolls through the pattern of foot 
> falls, alternating front/back, and side to side.
>
> Interestingly, the pace is actually a “fault”. It is penalised against 
> in dog shows. Many dogs will start to pace as they get older, even if 
> they never did when young. It is actually an easy gait for them to do, 
> based on their body shape and the fact that dogs can usually overstep 
> their front foot placement with their back feet. Which is why you can 
> see picture of dogs running and, at the moment of suspension, their 
> front paws will be behind the back ones – or, said another way, their 
> hind paws are reaching in front. And their spines are flexed upwards. 
> Horse, for example, cannot do this. Their backs move a bit, but not 
> very much. Their front legs will be off the ground and moving forward 
> before the hind ones get there. Hopefully. Otherwise they hit 
> themselves and can injure their tendons seriously.
>
> Horse pacing is also a fault. But one that is not generally recognised 
> as such. And is specifically bred for, as in Standardbred race horses. 
> Research has shown it is a problem in the hindquarters. And, pacing 
> horses can tend to get faster as they age (as opposed to thoroughbreds 
> or trotting standardbreds who, like all of us, tend to break down with 
> time!) because the fault becomes more pronounced with age.
>
> The Muybridge clips are great. Unfortunately, they still don’t show 
> the nuances of the animal movement.
>
> The walking work horse is somewhat restricted by the whipple tree of 
> his harness banging into his hind legs, so his gait is a bit stilted 
> and he isn’t extending as freely as he probably otherwise would. The 
> poor pacer has his head restricted (as shown by his gaping mouth, as 
> the rider hangs on it) so you don’t see how he would normally be using 
> his head and neck for balance. And, of course, you can’t see the 
> wonderful side-to-side roll of a free pacer. (And, as the wiki article 
> says, it is a heck of a thing to try and ride. Which is probably why 
> the rider in the clip is leaning on those reins to try and stay on!)
>
> One other little thing, while we are talking nuances. Many people 
> don’t know (or never notice) that as a the leg is being lifted, the 
> body joint actually drops. What this means is, when a horse lifts a 
> hind leg to swing it forward, the hip drops. Same with the shoulders 
> when the front legs move forward. So, the hip and shoulder joints 
> actually do a sort-of reverse roll as each leg move forward.
>
> This is the same with humans. Try it. You’ll find you do not walk by 
> lifting your hip (unless you are limping). You shift your weight to 
> the opposite leg, drop your hip, bend the knee and swing the leg 
> forward. Try walking without shifting your weight over. Can’t be done!
>
> I can’t tell you anything about camels, though!
>
> Cheers,
>
> - Dj
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *From:* SciArt-L Discussion List-for Natural Science Illustration- 
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Clara Richardson
> *Sent:* Thursday, January 29, 2009 10:51 AM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Re: [SCIART] Animal locomotion article
>
> cool, Stephen - seeing Muybridge's gallop actually animated right here 
> on my desktop is cool. computers are good for something!
>
> pacing is interesting - my beagle paces all the time. Since I am 
> taller than he is ;o I watch it from the top - his backbone twists 
> side to side when he is pacing - something Muybridge can't show us. 
> But at a trot his backbone doesn't move at all.
>
> what I want to know is - what is a single-foot? I understand it is a 
> lovely riding gait.
>
> and while I'm asking - does a camel's backbone move like the dog's 
> (since they pace not trot)?
>
> -Clara
>
> On Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 3:40 PM, Stephen DiCerbo <[log in to unmask] 
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>
> Lastly, a horse's "Pace" seems to be the easiest to follow with its 
> port to starboard side symmetry.... :^)
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Muybridge_horse_pacing_animated.gif
>
>
>
> At 04:30 PM 1/28/2009, you wrote:
>
> heres a walk
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_gait
>
>
> At 04:27 PM 1/28/2009, you wrote:
>
> How about the original?
>
> motion photography (films, movies) began with this 16 frame motion 
> study of a horse in motion...... galloping, not walking, but it is odd 
> and unique where the hoofs are at any given time. especially when all 
> four are off the ground
>
>
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Muybridge_race_horse_animated.gif
>
>
>
> Stephen
>
>
>
>
>
> At 04:43 PM 1/27/2009, you wrote:
>
> Thanks for that, Wendy. It would really be cool to see that visualized 
> in slo-mo or animation.
> Linda
> _______________________
> Linda M. Feltner Artist, LLC
> P.O. Box 325
> Hereford, AZ 85615
> (520) 803-0538
> <http://www.lindafeltner.com>www.lindafeltner.com 
> <http://www.lindafeltner.com>
>