Part 7

The left fore foot.

Both fore feet.

The right fore foot.

From which he springs into the air to re-commence the phases with the left hind foot, while the only phase in which he has been discovered without support is one when the legs are flexed under the body. All of the feet at this time are nearly close together and have comparatively little independent motion; this phase, therefore, more persistently than any other, forces itself upon the attention of the careful observer, and conveys to him the impression of a horse's rapid motion in singular contradiction to the conventional interpretation, until quite recently, usually adopted by the Artist.

It should not be understood that the term "spring" implies that the body of the horse is greatly elevated by that action; were it so, much force would be unnecessarily expended with the result of loss of speed. The center of gravity of a horse trotting or galloping at a high rate of speed will preserve an almost strictly horizontal line, the undulations being very slight.

In the gallop of the horse it is probable there may be sometimes a period of suspension between the lifting of one fore foot and the descent of the other, but it has not yet been demonstrated.

The method of galloping described applies to the horse and its allies, and to most of the cloven and soft-footed animals.

In the gallop of the dog the sequence of foot falling and the action of the body is materially different, and the animal is free from support twice in each stride.

Assuming that a racing hound after a flight through the air with elongated body and extended legs (like the conventional galloping horse), lands upon the left fore foot, the right fore will next touch the ground; from this he will again spring into the air, and with curved body and flexed legs land upon the right hind foot, while the right fore feet will be half the length of the body to the rear. The left hind now descends, another flight is effected, and again the left fore repeats its functions of support and propulsion.

These successive foot fallings are common to all dogs when galloping, and it is worthy of note that the same rotary action in the use of the limbs is adopted in the gallop of the elk, the deer and the antelope, all of which animals, like the dog, can for a time excel the horse in speed.

A search through all the dictionaries published at the time of writing, and accessible to the Author, fails to discover a correct definition of "the gallop." This motion is in America frequently miscalled the "run," and its execution "running," but no corresponding explanation of the word is given by any lexicographer.

In Scott's "Lady of the Lake" occurs "Then faint afar are heard the feet of rushing steeds in gallop fleet," many other distinguished Authors refer to the same action by the same name, by which, or its equivalents, it is universally known in Europe.

THE LEAP.

There is little essential difference in general characteristics of either of the several movements that have been described, but with a number of experiments made with horses while leaping, no two were found to agree in the manner of execution. The leap of the same horse at the same rate of speed, with the same rider, over the same hurdle, disclosed much variation in the rise, clearance, and descent of the animal. A few phases were, however, invariable. While the horse was raising his body to clear the hurdle, one hind foot was always in advance of the other, which exercised its last energy alone.

On the descent, the concussion was always first received by one fore foot, followed more or less rapidly by the other, sometimes as much as 30 inches in advance of where the first one struck; the hind feet were also landed with intervals of time and distance.

No attempt will be made to analyze the consecutive phases of various other acts of Animal Locomotion, such as rearing, bucking, kicking, tossing, etc., on account of the irregularity which characterizes their execution, and the difficulty of obtaining reliable data.

The Author has vainly sought for the rules which govern the hind feet of a playfully disposed mule; but the inquiry has usually been unsatisfactory, and upon some occasions disastrous. Should these movements be controlled by any general law, it is of such a complex nature that all attempts to expound it have hitherto been fruitless.

The figures in the series of circles (see appendix A) were selected from

"ANIMAL LOCOMOTION"

and arranged by the Author for his less ambitious work,

"POPULAR ZOOPRAXOGRAPHY."

(See Appendix C).

They were traced by the well known artist, Erwin Faber, and are reproduced one-third the diameter of the circles arranged for the zoöpraxiscope. Many of the original phases of movement are omitted on account of the optical law which in the construction of a zoöpraxiscope requires that the number of illustrations must bear a certain relationship to the number of perforations through which they are viewed.

The popular number of thirteen having been selected for the latter, the same number of figures illustrate actions without lateral progressive motion.

When the number of illustrated phases is less than the number of perforations, the succession of phases is in the direction of the motion, and the disc is necessarily revolved in a reverse direction.

When the number of phases is greater than the number of perforations, the phases succeed each other in a direction contrary to that of the motion, and the disc is revolved in the direction of the motion.

An increased or diminished number of figures will respectively result in an increased or diminished apparent speed of the object.

For further information on the subject, the reader is referred to the