THE GALLOP. 17 



In the gallop, the horse leaves the ground from one of 

 his fore-legs let us say the right fore- leg (figures i and 2). 

 The mass is then received by the left hind-leg, planted 

 on or near the spot just vacated by its predecessor 

 (figure 3). The right hind-leg then reaches the ground 

 at exactly the same moment that the left fore-leg is planted 

 (figure 5 or n). 1 The weight is borne, then, by three 

 legs, and as the mass is advanced (figure 6), the left hind- 

 leg is detached (figure 7), and the right fore-leg is put 

 to the ground. Again three legs bear the weight. Then, 

 owing to the want of sufficient momentum and the lack 

 of propulsive force in the fore-hand, the mass is thrust 

 over upon the right fore-leg by the impetus from the 

 right hind-leg (figure 8), and from the right fore-leg the 

 horse again goes into air in a new stride (figure 9). 



The first nine figures show a completed stride. The 

 remaining three figures in the Plate are superfluous, and 



1 In the figure (4, Plate III.), where the two diagonal legs are coming to the 

 ground, it will be observed that the fore-leg is extended, and the hind-leg 

 being extended, so that, considering the distances the feet have to travel to 

 reach the ground, they should be planted at exactly the same moment. It 

 should be observed that the light-coloured line, which appears in the original 

 negatives of my pictures, and which has not been augmented or touched in 

 these true copies, is the path upon which my horse passes : and in figure 4, 

 Plate III., the fore-foot is still several inches from the ground. This is the 

 pace described by Professor Marey as ' the gallop of three beats,' and the 

 camera confirms the correctness of the theory he reached through his 

 experiments in recording the foot-falls of the horse. 



