The stepping pace can be a very smooth gait. I suspect on this horse it is very smooth as this horse is not being held up overly high in ventroflextion of the back and there is some element of a relaxed flow to this horses gait.
Valucraft, Duralast, and Duralast Gold are AutoZone's private label brands for lead-acid automotive batteries (manufactured by Johnson Controls, East Penn, and other manufacturers).
As for mainstream battery makers, they all seem to be made by Exide or Johnson Controls from what I see around here. Like everything else, I was just wondering if different brands call for better specs in terms of quality and such. I know this is pretty old and low-tech technology but some do seem to provide better service than others.