, 1882-04-01
THE HORSE IN MOTION.
A New and Interesting Discovery
Recently Made.
4 Minute De.eriptIsa Of . herse's S"aisn.

Uuder this title, a most Interesting and
surprising book has Just been published
by James F. Osgcod & %, under the
auspices Of Leland Stanford 1t shows
conelusiveIy through the accompanying
photographs that the different modes Of
motion Of the horse are entirely opposed
to all accepted ideas as they are repre-
sented by men who have painted horses at
speed. These photographs were obtained
from a row Of "a cameras, placed one foot
apart. each of such .ensiiIveness that the
exposure Of 5000 part Of a second was
Sufficient to produce an impression The
morse was galloped past them. and thus
his exact position q. each portion OF his
stride could be obtained. And by COM
pairing the impressions in their regular
order, the precise manner OF his motion
Is incontestably shown
While people have been thinking that
the running horse raised his fore foot
from the ground, and with an impulse
from his launches launched himself into
the air, alighting on his fore legs, and
that after once more gathering his hind
legs, and placing them under him, he re-
peated the operation, the animal has
been doing nothing Of the sort. Instead
of the fore feet leaving the ground before
The hind feet, the hind feet, which are
still the main instruments of propulsion,
are the first 10 leave the ground, the fore
feet being the last, and, again, instead of
alightins after the spring on the fore feet
the horse alights on his hind fee..
At one portion Of his stride the horse
is entirely in the air, but when painters
have represented him flying along with
all his feet of the ground, they have
drawn him with his hind legs fully ex-
tended, that is, with his fore legs thrown
out in front and his hind legs stretched
backward. Gov. Stanford's Cameras show
that the exact reverse Of this is the true
position At the moment when all feet
are off the ground, the feet are all gath
cred together under him and at that
moment. instead Of giving one an idea Of
feetness and freedom, the position is
cramped and awkward, resembling more
that Of an animal crouched for spring.
At that part Of his stride when the horses
legs are fully extended, while people have
supposed him to be clear off the ground,
as matter Of fact one Of his hind feet
touches, and alsn one OF his fore feet
These seemingly curious positions can
best be compared 10 those taken by boy
with jumping pole, letting the pole rep
resent the fore legs and the boys legs the
horses hind legs. TO jump with the
pole, the boy plants ii as far in front Cf
muscles Of his legs to throw his body
forward His feet leave the ground, and
his center of gravity, supported by the
pole, is finally carried so far beyond the
s..ot where the pole touches the ground
that the pole has to be taken of the
ground, and the boy al;ghts on his feet.
again stretches the pole forward, and
again springs with his legs This is the
way horse gallops. Roughly speaking,
the horse. with hind feet on tn, ground,
stretches his fore feet out IN front of him
IS far as ne can and plants them On the
ground. Ii must be clearly understood
that the fore feet are thus placed on the
ground before the hind feet are taken off
Then, giving shove with his hauuehes,
his hind feet leave the ground. and BY
the impetns thus impaired his body, sup
ported by hls fore feet, is carried for
ward When the body, still going for
ward with the impetIs impaired by the
hind legs, reaches point SO far beyond
where the fore legs are planted tha: they
can no longer sustain it, the fore legs
come off the ground, and, being by this
time behind the shouldec, are hexed |
under the belly, and the horse is free in |
the air The momentum If his body |
carries him on until the force of gravity |
brings him back to the earth, and by this |
time the hind legs, which from the mo- !
ment they last left the ground began to !
gather and approach the fore legs, have |
been brought under him, and being |
placed On the ground, they support the
weight Of the falling body Now We have |
the horse poised on his hind legs, like the |!
boy after alighting on the ground and |
then, again stretching his fore legs for
ward as the boy does the pole, he places |
them on the ground and again springs |
with his launches.
The exact motions Of the four legs re-
!atively to each other are shown by the |
following reproductions of drawings after
the impressions on the cameras. The !
horse is supposed to be galloping, with |
his near leg-that is, with his near fore
leg, thrown forward in his stride beyond |
the off leg. The near leg is placed on |
the ground in front of the off leg, and |
also the near hind leg is placed on the |
ground in advance of the off hind leg In |
Fig. We have the horse standing ready !
tn start.