galloping straight - rump to side

Question

galloping straight - r   hello ma'am, may i know why few horses gallop straight with their rump turned to a side like this in the image? is this confirmation fault? if yes, what fault is this?

frankly speaking, most of our racehorses gallop like this with rump facing sidwards.

Answer
Rohit,

I find this quite interesting.

Race horse jockeys do have a disadvantage compared to regular riders as they do not have a long leg on the horse to help keep him straight. When you are riding a dressage horse, for example, your legs are of the utmost importance to help keep the horse either in a straight line, or purposefully bent to the right or to the left.

The thrust of a horse's hind legs (hindquarters) is very important to the movement of a horse. Horses are rear-wheel driven animals. I would think that the straighter a trainer is able to get the horse to run, the faster the horse would be able to go. If he gallops with his haunches to the side, then the thrusting power of his "motor" would carry him sideways, not straight.Part of the power would go sideways, and he would thus lose speed.

Harness horses have plastic burrs placed on the side of their necks to keep them straighter in their harnesses, and lines that run from their harness to the racing bike.


Mitzi