20i HOESE PORTEAITUBE. 



can possibly have that immense stride otherwise. It is 

 apparent, then, that all the feet must be off the ground at 

 the same time. I have often watched to see if I could 

 determine whether the feet passed each other when off or 

 on the ground. I am inclined to think the latter position 

 is correct, though I cannot say positively. In a gallop, 

 each foot strikes the ground in rotation, followed by a 

 bound. The sound a running horse makes can be imita- 

 ted very accurately by placing the hand on a table, striking 

 first with the little finger, and at equal intervals with the 

 others, dwelling a little after the fore finger has been 

 brought down, which answers to the spring that marks 

 the duration of each stride. The hind legs, in galloping, 

 must be thrown forward when the body is in the air, 

 touching the ground very nearly as soon as the fore ones, 

 and, at the moment of contact, being in a proper position 

 to propel the animal along. Horses sometimes, when run- 

 ning, cut themselves on the inside of the hock, frequently 

 between that and the pastern. This is termed speedy cut, 

 as it is evident that a horse must be making violent efforts 

 when the hind legs are thrown so much in advance of the 

 front feet. Should May cut, as I suppose she does, thrust- 

 ing the hind foot between the fore feet and partially under 

 the near one, it will show that the legs are not moved at 

 the same instant ; and if we make the stroke of the pro- 

 pelling limb from a higher curve, she will either avoid 

 having it wounded, or the injury will be in a different 

 place, where I hope it will be easier protected. 



PUPIL. I think your surmises are correct as to the 

 cause of the injury. When experimenting with the dif- 

 ferent kinds of boots which I have tried on her, I daubed 

 her pastern with white paint, thinking it would show the 

 place that gave the blow by adhering to it. The paint, I 

 found, would be rubbed off without staining any place I 

 could discover, which of course, would be the case if \i 



