Story: Horse and greyhound racing

Trotting and pacing

The difference between trotting and pacing gaits can be seen in these two pictures. A trotter's front and back legs move forwards on alternate sides (top), while a pacer's front and back legs move forwards on the same side (bottom).

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Damer Farrell Collection (PA-Group-00329)

Reference: PADL-000334

by Damer Farrell

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Mary Mountier, Horse and greyhound racing – Development of harness racing, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/38999/trotting-and-pacing (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Mary Mountier, published 30 November 2012, updated 1 November 2015.

Comments

Gary Burgess
06 August 2020

Very informative, I stumbled across this site and am glad that I did, I will be visiting on a regular basis. Cheers, Gary Burgess Bendigo Victoria Aust.