Jean Luc Cornille 1988

Horse-Ruler thoroughbred out of Bold Ruler

If excessive weight is loading the forelegs, they will not have the power to propel the horse body upward. The front limbs’ adaptation will be then to control balance through their braking activity instead of their propulsive activity. The quality of this old video is not great and this is why we are playing it in black and white. However, the sequence clearly shows the difference between the trot of a horse braking with the forelegs and the trot of the same horse pushing with the forelegs. The horse was a thoroughbred By Bold Ruler which is Chazot’s great grand father. The thoroughbred name was Ruler and he first trotted heavy on the forelegs. The trot was flat. The front limbs controlled balance braking against the propulsive force of the hind legs. Six months later, the same horse is controlling balance through the forelegs’ upward propulsive activity. He was not a mediocre mover which later metamorphosed into a great athlete. He was a great athlete to start with, which was trapped into training concepts that destroyed his gaits and physique.