i6o LEAPING. 



from his hind legs, were, also, to land on them, he would 

 lose all the advantage which the forward reach of his 

 fore legs gives him. As we have already seen, a horse 

 in the gallop, after the period of suspension, lands on 

 a hind leg ; but in the leap, he lands on a fore leg. 



When a horse lands on both fore feet nearly at 

 the same time (Fig. 255), he will jump more or less 

 "sticky," which many animals are prompted to do, by 

 having to draw in their heads on landing, so as to save 

 their lower jaw from the painful pressure of the curb. 

 In a well-executed leap, the fact of the horse landing 

 on one fore leg and then on the other, lengthens the base 

 of support, and thus increases the stability. The hind 

 legs coming down in the same manner enables the horse 

 to at once take up the gallop, which is in four periods, 

 without loss of time (Fig. 242). The safest way for a 

 man, on the contrary, to alight is on both feet kept 

 together, with the knees somewhat flexed (Fig. 41), in 

 order to break the shock of concussion ; for his body 

 is placed vertically, and not horizontally, as is the case 

 with the horse. In drawing any comparison of this 

 kind, we must remember that our legs are attached to 

 the trunk by bony union, at our hip joints, and not, as 

 in the ■ fore legs of the horse, by muscles which act as 

 springs in nullifying any injurious effect from impact 

 with the ground. Again, in the horse, although the 

 knees must be kept straight, on landing, in order to 

 insure stability ; the fetlock, elbow and shoulder joints 

 act as springs. As man is a plantigrade animal (one 

 that walks on his hocks ; p. 38), he must utilise the " play " 

 of the knee joints, with which to break the force of con- 

 cussion, when he lands on the ground with any great 

 force. If, in such a case, the knees be kept straight, the 

 shock will fall in its entirety on the pelvis, at the hip 

 joints, and may be transmitted with very serious effect 

 to the spinal cord. Men who practise hurdle-racing on 

 foot (Fig. 256), alight on one foot, and then bound off 



