PACES OF THE H0R8E. 



151 



ball of india-rubber at the moment when the horseman wishes 

 the tracings to commence. Fig. 44 represents the general 

 arrangement of the apparatus at the moment when the rider 

 is about to collect the graphic signals of any particular pace. 



CHAPTER V. 



EXPERIMENTS ON THE PACES OF THE HORSE. 



Double aim of these experiments : determination of the movements under 

 the physiological point of view, and of the attitudes with reference 

 to art. 



Experiments on the trot — Tracings of the pressures of the feet and of the 



re-actions— Notation of the trot— P^^^e of the trot— Representation 



of the trotting horse. 

 Experiments on the walking pace — Notation of this kind of motion ; its 



varieties — Piste of the walking pace — Representation of a pacing 



horse. 



The aim of these experiments is twofold; as far as 

 physiology is concerned, we derive from them the expression 

 of the duration, actions, and re-actions of each pace, the 

 energy and duration of each movement, and the rhythm of 

 their succession. But the artist is no less interested in 

 knowing exactly the attitude which corresponds with each 

 movement, in order to represent it faithfully with the various 

 poses which characterise it. All these details are furnished 

 by the registering apparatus ; the artist need fear no error if 

 he conform his sketches to the indications furnished by the 

 tracings made by the instrument. 



The remarkable work of Vincent and Goilfon was expressly 

 intended to establish principles relative to the faithful repre- 

 sentation of the horse. We shall borrow some things from 

 this book, which seems to have been too much forgotten, and 

 not to have exercised upon art the influence that might have 

 been expected. This is doubtless owing, in some degree, to a 

 certain obscurity in the mode of explanation, and still more 

 to the fact that the writers, having had recourse only to direct 



