On Wed, Jun 27, 2007 at 11:36:09AM -0400, Karen Thomas wrote: > >>>> what's in the blank spaces in between? are there sharp delineations > among the three middle gaits, and if so, what are they? > > There are infinite variations in all things mammalian. No two horses will > gait EXACTLY alike, and when you think of the timing that can vary > infinitely between each footfall, that should make sense. Even the gait > experts will tell you that there are points in these gray areas where it's > hard to assign a name to a gait. As I've quoted many times, Lee Ziegler > often talked about how one gait will "morph" into another, along the gait > "continuum." I think those two words convey a lot.
*nods* i agree. i had a long talk with a native icelandic speaker this morning about it; they call the whole continuum between non-two-beat gaits "tolt". i am still working on the half-dozen english terms in use by lee zeigler and this list, but i am comfortable with "tolt" in the meanwhile. (i do not know why anyone would consider it a synonym for "rack"; icelandic speakers do not use it that way.) --vicka
