80 



THE HOBSE. 



STARTING FOR THE WALK. 



about to be placed on the ground, on tbe spot which the near fore 

 foot (2) has just left. The off hind foot (3) will follow next in 

 succession, and lastly the off fore foot (4) will complete the ca- 

 dence. But if each fore foot leaves the ground just as the corres- 

 ponding hind foot is finishing its stride, it follows as a matter of 

 necessity, if the action is carried on throughout in the same way, 

 that in starting from a point of rest the hind foot of one side or 

 other is the one to begin the walk. Next follows the fore foot on 

 the same side, then the opposite hind foot, and lastly the fore foot 

 of the opposite side. The order of progression, be it observed, is 

 the same, whether the description commences with the hind or fore 

 foot, and the argument is after all of little consequence ; but the 

 truth is really, as was observed by Borelli, that the hind foot is the 

 first to move when the horse starts into a walk from a state of rest 

 in which all four feet are placed as in ordinary standing. There 

 may be positions in grazing where the fore foot advances first; but 

 then the pace cannot be considered as the customary walk. 



In the accompanying outline the horse is represented in 

 the manner usually accepted by artists, with the near fore foot (2) 

 in the air, and apparently leading off. But if, as I have endeavored 

 to^how, the hind foot must of necessity start first, although tbia 



