New-York tribune., 1882-02-28

treuttleS lie prOleCJs hiuiooii ~ :"
oliphts not upon one of the hndfeet, but upon one
of the anterior extremties but the action of the
limbs in pairs is not synchronous one oil theh oele
nace in advance of the other, to distribute the
shock"
Eight plates illustrate the action of the horse IN
leating. Here owing to the slowing of the speed
necessary to taking hurdle the mechanism Is very
much more like that usually depicted than was thc
case with the run. The horse approaches the ourdo
as nearly as he deems necessary land the photo-
graphs strikingly portray the tmdity oil one leap
and the confidence of another gets his IoSterCr
limbs well under him. throws up the anterior part
of his body by the familiar thrust oi ioreioo anu
follows it up by strengthening the poserior eXtre-
ties and projecting himself over the hurdle lie
alicLts on one forefoot quickly followed by the
other. the hindfeet come down, and raising tho
anterior limbs he springs forward and resumes the
running gait, or rather caner as the speed Is no1
vet sufficiently great to permit the cvoiutlons oi
complete run.
The following is the account OF the trot:
When the horse reduces his speed in running so
that he can no longer maintain his balance upon
one foot. he will usually drop into fr0t, whlch Is q q
gait having two feet bases OF support lhsteau OF
one The theory of the trot is the same aS tnat OF
the walk but adapted to higher rate ol speeH, ~ ~
differs from walk i'll that the latter has always
two feet upon the ground, while III the troi thee IS
always space of time OF greater or less ahloht III
which al! the feet are OF the ground. other di1er-
ences will he noticed when we come to analyZe the
walk. They correspond IN that the WelE!iI Oh inc
body is borne by the diagonal eXtremltieS ai'er-
naiclv anu in the general correlation OF the lnDs III
tLrIr mechanical action. The action III the trot ls
he more vigorous as the distance IN which the body
moves unsupported Is increased. Inc definition Oh
the word stcp in its general use Is somewhat am
biguous Ii IS often used anonymously with Str1de
In the step of both quadrupcds and bpeis ~ Il I'M
derstood to mean the distance spanned by the Two
feet 10th resting Oh the ground. rms VIII vary
with the muscular energy, but Is limited ~ an
atOmlcal proportions. .
na,,ed over by one foot from the time IT leaves the
ground until 1t reaches it again. measured TO CORE
spending points, and is equal to two steps OIl III
the trOt this definition will not hold good lor there
must be added a certain distance, differing accord
inp TO speed, in which neither OF the iecJ VIII De
upon the ground. If represents tho step III me
walk, and the distance passed Over & ~ E t tpo tot
after the other foot is raised, the step III the tro
would be- expressed by a. -T, and when Is constant
the steps Will vary II. In the run, tHere OeIhE
four steps and an interval when AL the leet are OIL
the ground, equal TO "A step, the stride would be cN
pressed by jd The stride Is divided III the trOt INTO
two periods by the alternate feet, so That III the trO
the horse is twice clear OF the grouhI III eacn
stride. The step being supposed to be constant
quantity in the fast IOt, the stride can he extended
only by increasing the space which the bouN passes
over with its centre of gravity unSuppor'eu
While i'm the slow or jog trot this distance Is small
in the hvIng il exceeds that IN which thc Douy
is supported, and hence arises the great d!lncIiy
the preceding chapter the law of falling bodies IN
creases the difficulty in locomotion IN the ratio ol
the square of the time IN which Inc body Is so uli-
supported. 1t becomes q question ol power OIL re-
sstancc, strength of the parts on which that re-
sstancc depends On the other hand, the strength
of the parts, aS the JOINTS bones lgdmenlS ana
tendons involves increase of weight, which - III
compatible with rapidIty OF movement Without
corresponding increase OF power OF the muscles ana
weight OF the body 10 be borne so that the limit, OF
speed attanablc i'll trOt are reached more rapidly
than in a run, in which the limit Is to be found III
the measure OF activity.
instead of two, III the trot, each limb taking
its turn as supporter and propeller Win scarcely
apprecIable interval between, and an interval be
tween the last ioreeg and the first hnd one repre-
sentIng a fifth of the whole stride. l-dcu lllhn,
therefore, works One-hith OF each stride ana rests
the other four-lifths. The longest stride gwen OF
the run, in the examples furnished, IS that OF
Florence A. plate NNll.l, where It is gwen at
twenty feet six inches or little more than tour
feet the portion ASSIGNED to each liInD. III VIII
he observed that in the trOtting horse plate
NNNNLl, whose stride Is given at eighteen ieet
three inches, the time of support by two limbs Is
about the same, while the time in which there Is no
support given greater. and divided INTO two inter
vals SO in Plate NL. the gravity Is supported about
half the time by two limbs, and the other haif by
none alternating every four feet. NOtWlthstanu-
ing the wonderful mechanical provision IN each OF
the four limbs to secure uniform support ana pro
pulson while the feet rest upon the ground the IN
slant hat the body ceases to be supported It be-
comes subject to the law of the descent OF iallng
bodies and all its consequences as mentioned IN the
last chapter, and the greater the speed OF the
animal the more serious the possible consequences; +;
and though 10 small advantage is gained by rclicv
ing the horse of the weight oi the rider ana placing
il upon a sulkv IT l. the cause OF serious damage 10
the finest stock. 1t is 10 small accomplishment IN
a horse however thoroughbred, to bc 50 well dlsc-
plined that he will not break from last tIot, now
ever gOaded by his driver and hlS own amlltIon III
a sharp contest into pace in " hlch he Is conscious
he can make better time with Tar more ease than III
the one he IS forced to take. -.
1t will be seen that the theory of the trot IS the
~. .lv. IL. q fla lg.
Of grary shalt be supported constantly and propaiioa
DaGe uaiiOrmb by dHth erircmitcS from The time they
reach the grOUEd until they icatt Il. but by TWO alter
nate limbs at a time, and no by one az ID the run
Other gaits pacing, Walking, hauling and single
foot. are illustrated and described but we have
already extended this notice too greatly to permit
Of further quotations.
Plates LVII. to CIV. inclusive contain with few
exceptions, five figures each. In taking the photo
graphs five cameras were used one III the situation
of the battery the others two a side, SO that all
were in the arc of a circle the centre of which was
occupied by the horse at the instant that he broke
the thread that made the simultaneous connection
for all the cameras. The result gives five views
of the same position, and they represent all the
rats walking trotting. running leaping, etc. The
hope is expressed that these will he of Assistance to
artists Mr. Stanford puts the matter very safely
when he says in his preface: The facts demon
stratcd cannot fall it would seem, to modify the
opinions generally entertained by ymany, and as they
become more generally known, to have their inlu-
ence on art" All this, and perhaps moro, may be
readily admitted. Dr. Stiman approaches the
question in a controversial way. and attacks the
doctrine that things must be represented as they
seem. And yet in the following paragraph he
seems to us to practically surrender the point:
The reader may ask why is ii that the artists of
all time, with the full accord OF all men-and our
own eyes confirm the tradtiOn-repreScnt the horse
in galloping as extending his feet TO the ut
most as seen in all the pictures of horses racing.
NV answer is this: We now know that ID is not
true that horse did put himself in the posi-
ton portrayed the best artists; and the eXPlana-
tion that | have to offer Is, that IN the gallop the
horse always moves his feet alternately aud to the