INTRODUCTION. 9 



clue recognition, I rank myself, in the execution, on the 

 side of those who emit the principle, that in nature 

 nothing is absolute or complete. In fact, as the absolute 

 finds its most complete satisfaction in geometry, 

 mathematics and photography, it would be absurd to 

 regard it as the ideal, and equally ridiculous to affirm 

 that a horse differs in nothing from another animal of 

 the same species. 



The proof that each man interprets nature according 

 to his temperament is seen in the dissimilarity between 

 the works of several painters endeavouring to reproduce 

 the same subject. 



In the observation which I shall submit to the public 

 there is little novel except the persistence with which I 

 have sought to find the appreciation, useful to 

 draughtsmen, which can be drawn from special treatises 

 written within the last century upon the locomotion of 

 the horse : books difficult to comprehend, little read by 

 the learned, and never by artists or amateurs. 



The man who should contribute to shed most light 

 upon this difficult question, is assuredly Captain Raabe, 

 for, possessing great experience of the horse and of the 

 exceptional qualities essential for a horse-breaker, he was 

 the first to publicly apply a practical demonstration in a 

 riding-school, after a minute description of the gaits and 

 much examination of the views of his predecessors ; 

 therefore I refer all those, who desire to thoroughly and 

 scientifically examine the subject, to his remarkable work 

 upon the haute ecole of equitation. I have derived great 

 instruction from his lessons, and I am happy to be able 

 to record my grateful recognition. 



