Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1882-12-28
THE GAIT OF HORSES.
Motions that Artists, Eyes have Failed
60 FOLLOW.

Prof. Eadweard Muybrldge delivereu
in the Turf Club Theatre New York, an
exceedingly interesting lecture upon the
attitudes of animals in motion, illustra-
ting il by photographs made by instan-
-taneous process and by machine called
the zoopraxiscope, which caused ami.
mails and human beings to appear in
actual motion upon the screen in y
startling lifelike manner. He explain-
ed first the ingenious apparatus by which
these pictures were made-a series OF
twenty-four cameras, each fitted with
an electro-eXposer that exposed the
negative to the light for one iive-thous-
andth of second when an animal in
motion before it broke thread and
made the electric connection.
The series of pictures thus produced
represented every movement of any ami
nal for the observation of which this
apparatus was employed, and revolu-
tionized the old ideas of the motions OF
quadrupeds in their several gaits, es-
pecially of those of horses. 1t had
been matter of dispute whether the
horse ever had three feet on the grounI
ut one time when walking. These
pictures settled that. He always has
two feet on the ground, and part of the
time three, the two feet being alternate
| ly diagonals and laterals.
Wherever walking horse is sup
ported on two feet, and the suspended
feet are invariably on the same side;
where he is supported on two extended
feet the suspended feet inside are
diagonals. If a horse drops the left
fore foot, followed by the right hind
and finally by the right fore.
Egyptian, Assyrian and Roman
pictures were shown to demonstrate
that an erroneous idea of this motion
prevailed in the earliest attempts of art.
1t was perpetuated in the famous statue
of Marcus Aurelius. which has been the
model of all equestrian statues of Wash
ington, in Boston and in Union Square
as in any of the old Egyptian or AS
horse 10 walk in the way there depicted.
Meissonier had correct idea of horses
walk when he painted his great picture
Of Napoleon in 1914. but the critics
r,diculed it and pronounced itincorrect.
Now he has the satisfaction of knowing
that he was right and they were all
wrong. Miss Thompson also was cor
rect, and the critics derided her for be-
ing so. Now the laugh is on the other
side.
A dozen pictures were next shown
illustrative of horse ambling, gait
in which he is never altogether clear OF
the ground. but is supported alternate
~ by one and two feet, the single foot
being alternately fore and hind foot,
and the two feet alternately laterals and
diagonals. This was best understood
when actually represented by the
zoopraNiscopc, and the demonstration
was so perfect as to elicit great applause
from the spectators.
The racking or pacing gait was next
amply illustrated. In it the horse moves
the lateral feet simultaneously instead
of the diagonal feet, rs in the trot. Then
the trot was shown in an exhaustive
series of photographs covering every
movement of trotting horse, both at a
slow and fast trot. In the latter the
horse was, at one point in his stride,
entirely off the ground, The right fore
and hind feet quite clear and the others
not quito touching. In fast trot the
horse invariably puts the heel down
first. never the ball of the foot or toe.
BY an ingenious arrangement of five
cameras five pictures were successfully
made simultaneously from different
points of view, for artists use. of horses
in the several attitudes of motion, and
several of these foreshortened animals,
when thrown upon the screen, were as
tonishinglv comic, however true to ma
ture they PROFESSIONALLY were.
The canter was next shown, IN which
during portion of his stride the horse
has three feet on the ground and the
fourth almost touching it. Then the
gallop was illustrated. A fast horse
going rapidly, Mr.. Muybridge said, will
be in the air three times in a single
stride, he believed, but this was only
his conjecture, arguing from the Illus
trations he mad obtained.
The lecturer reverted again to ancient
history, showing the old EgyptiOn and
Assyrian models of the running horse
models blindly followed by artists ever
since--in which the animal is presented
posing himself on both hind feet ex-
tended far behind, with his fore feet
stretched far out ahead of him together.
The North American Indians had
much more correct idea of the motion
of horse, as was demonstrated by
their rude pictures upon a buffalo robe
that Lafayette bought when in his coun-
try and took back with him to Paris.
The horse as he Appeals IN jumping
was the subject Of the final series OF
horse pictures, and afforded some of the
most surprising and brilliant effects of
the zoopraxiscope. In response to
question Of an auditor as To whether the
horse, in jumping, got his power from
his hind legs, the lecturer replied that
he undoubtedly did, that he raised the
front part of his body with his fore legs
and took his spring from his hind legs.
In speaking OF horses jumping he said
that the horse of which some of these
pictures were made had risen Is feet in
front of a #. 6 in. hurdle, cleared it,
and alighted II feet beyond it. In
alighting from jump the horse always
lands first on his fore feet. with them 36
or 30 inches apart.
Following these pictures were long
series of illustrations of the various gaits
of oxen, wild bull, Newfoundland dog,
hound, deer, goat, and hog. In speak.
ing of the motions of the OK, Mr.. Muy-
bridge'criticised Rosa Bonheur sharply,
pointing out that in her picture of three
Jokes of draught oxen laboring. she
missed the natural movements of the
beasts. The goat runs like horse and
the deer like the hound, bounding rather
than running. In one part of the deer's
stride It's altitude was very near 10 that
which artists have so long inaccurately