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Put through your paces

Posted by Smokey Stover on October 16, 2006

In Reply to: Put through your paces posted by ESC on October 16, 2006

: : : whrere did the phrase "to be put through your paces"(I.E He really put me through my paces) come form?

: : From horse training.
: : SS

: By the way, here's some information on pacers and trotters from the Kentucky Horse Park site.

: The Difference Between a Trotter and Pacer

: A trotter moves its legs diagonally, right front and left hind, then left front and right hind striking the ground simutaneously. A pacer moves its legs laterally, right front and right hind, then left front and left hind striking the ground simultaneously.

Quite so. The natural or riding gaits of horses include the trot, the walk, the canter and the gallop. Other gaits in which some horses are trained are the pace, the rack and the fox trot. The Encyclopedia Britannica Online is very good on horses, and one article has an animated graphic in which the motion of horses in six gaits is interestingly demonstrated. (See the article on "horsemanship." For more gaits, see "Dressage.")
SS

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