portance; we are led to suppose, by the extremely slight reactions of the hinder parts, that their action consists chiefly in a forward propulsion, but with very slight impulsion of the body in an upward direction. This agrees with the theory somewhat generally admitted, by which the fore-legs would have little to do in the normal pace except to support alternately the fore part of the body, while to the hind limbs would belong the propulsive action and the tractive force developed by the animal.

The piste of the walking pace, according to Vincent and Goiffon, is analogous with that of the trot, except that it presents a shorter interval between the successive footprints on the same side.

FIG. 52.-Piste of the walking pace, after Vincent and Goiffon.

In the ordinary walk, this distance would be equal to the height of the horse, measured at the withers. As in the trot, the prints are covered at each pace; those of the right foot alternate perfectly with those of the left. This character of the piste of the walking pace is, however, observed only under

FIG. 53.-Piste of the amble, after Vincent and Goiffon: it differs from that of the walking pace, only by the non-superposition of the footprints on the same side. The hind foot is placed on the ground beyond the impression of the fore foot.

certain conditions of speed, and on level ground. On rising ground the prints of the hind-feet are usually behind those of the fore-feet; in a descent, on the contrary, they may possibly pass beyond them, which would give the piste of the walk some resemblance to that of the amble.

Representation of a pacing horse. The representation of a horse at the walking pace has been given by Mons. Duhousset in fig. 54. The instant chosen is marked in the notation by a dot. We shall not give an enumeration of the positions of the limbs of the animal as shown in the notation, as we have already done so in the representation of the trot.

CHAPTER VI.

EXPERIMENTS ON THE PACES OF THE HORSE.

(Continued.)

Experiments on the gallop-Notation of the gallop-Re-actions-Bases of support-Pistes of the gallop-Representation of a galloping horse in the various times of this pace.

Transitions, or passage, from one step to the other—Analysis of the paces by means of the notation rule-Synthetic reproduction of the different paces of the horse,

OF THE GALLOP.

SEVERAL different paces, the common character of which is that irregular impacts return at regular intervals, are comprehended under this name. Most of the writers distinguish three kinds of gallop by the rhythm of the impacts, and name them, according to this rhythm, gallop in two, three, and four time. The most ordinary kind is the gallop in threetime; this we shall study in the first place.

Experiments on the gallop. Fig. 55 has been obtained from a horse which galloped in three-time. At first sight, the notation of this pace reminds us of that which we have represented when speaking of human gallop (fig. 36, p. 134), a pace used by children when " playing at horses." appears that the notation of the horse's gallop has been obtained by placing one over another two of these notations of the biped gallop; so that, in fact, the comparison used by Dugès is perfectly just, even when it is applied to the gallop.

It

Analysis of the tracing. At the commencement of the figure, the animal is suspended above the ground; then comes the impact P G, which announces that the left hind-foot touches the ground. This is the foot diagonally opposed to that which the horse places forward in the gallop, and whose impact A D will be, produced the last. Between these two impacts, and distinctly in the middle of the interval which separates them, comes the simultaneous impact of the two feet forming the

In this series of movements the ear has, therefore, distinguished three sounds, at nearly equal intervals. The first sound is produced by a hinder foot, the second by a diagonal biped, the third by a fore-foot. Between the single impact of the fore-foot, which constitutes the third sound, and the first beat of the pace which follows, reigns a silence whose duration is exactly equal to that of the three impacts taken together; then the series of movements recommences.

By the inspection of the curves, we see that the pressure of the feet on the ground must be more energetic in the gallop than in the other paces already represented, for the height of the curves is evidently greater than for the trot, and especially so as compared with the walk. In fact, the animal must not only support the weight of its body, but give it violent forward impulses. The greatest energy seems to belong to the first impact. At this moment, the body, raised for an instant from the ground, falls again, and one leg alone sustains this shock.

FIG. 56.-Gallop in three-time. (A) indication of three-time. B. indication of the number of feet which form the support of the body at each instant of the gallop in three-time.

If we wish to take account of the successive pressures which sustain the body during each of the steps in the gallop, we have only to divide the duration of this pace into successive instants in which the body is sometimes supported on one or on several feet, and sometimes suspended. The notation (fig. 56) allows us to follow in (A) the succession of impacts, and shows in (B) the succession of the limbs which cause these pressures on the ground.

If we wish to ascertain what are the re-actions produced at the withers, we see them represented in fig. 55 (upper line R). We find an undulatory elevation, which lasts all the time