Pratt G W, O'Connor J T
Am J Vet Res. 1978 Feb;39(2):249-53.
A biomechanical model of running has been presented. A basic premise has been that the swing time is nearly independent of speed. In fact, both the racehorse and the trotter have nearly equal swing times. Consequently, as speed increases and the stance phase becomes shorter, the horse must compensate by increasing his extension or the length of the airborne phase (or both). The safe speed which allows the horse adequate preparation time for contact of a leg with the ground is calculated, using a stride-by-stride analysis of the motion of the horse. This is seen to be a very sensitive function of the overlap time in the gait. The overlap between the legs appears to affect both the ultimate performance potential of the horse and also his prospects for soundness.
已经提出了一个跑步的生物力学模型。一个基本前提是摆动时间几乎与速度无关。事实上，赛马和快步马的摆动时间几乎相等。因此，随着速度增加且站立阶段变短，马必须通过增加伸展幅度或腾空阶段的长度（或两者）来进行补偿。利用对马的运动进行逐步分析，计算出了能让马有足够时间为腿部触地做好准备的安全速度。这被视为步态中重叠时间的一个非常敏感的函数。腿部之间的重叠似乎既影响马的最终性能潜力，也影响其健康状况。
