. Animal Life and the World of Nature; A magazine of Natural History. 20 Animal Life. In a horse, the bones of the upper segments of the limbs are set very obliquely to one another; and as those of the lower segments are much more elongated (both actually and proportionately) than in man, the running and leaping powers are greatly increased. Both in walking (Fig. 6) and in trotting (Fig. 7) the diagonal movement of the limbs occurs, although it is only in the latter mode of loco- motion that one fore-limb moves synchronously with the hind-limb of the opposite side. Supposing a horse starts his
. Animal Life and the World of Nature; A magazine of Natural History. 20 Animal Life. In a horse, the bones of the upper segments of the limbs are set very obliquely to one another; and as those of the lower segments are much more elongated (both actually and proportionately) than in man, the running and leaping powers are greatly increased. Both in walking (Fig. 6) and in trotting (Fig. 7) the diagonal movement of the limbs occurs, although it is only in the latter mode of loco- motion that one fore-limb moves synchronously with the hind-limb of the opposite side. Supposing a horse starts his walk by raising- first the left fore-foot (and it is a remarkable fact that most domesticated horses, perhaps as the result of training, show a marked tendency to "lead with the left"), the next to be advanced will be the right or diagonal hind-foot; the latter being followed in turn by the right fore-foot, and this again by its diagonal, namely, the left hind-foot. In slow walking (Fig. 7) the horse has always three feet on the ground; but when moving at a more rapid walk (Fig. 6) there are short intervals during which two feet are off the ground simultaneously, although these intervals are so short that the fact cannot be detected by the naked eye. Owing to the diagonal and alternate movements of the limbs in walking, a more or less nearly horizontal roll is communicated to the whole body of the horse. This roll is, however, still more conspicuous in smaller animals, such as dogs and cats, in which a continuous oblique wave of motion seems to traverse their bodies as they advance at a walk or a slow trot. Here it may be mentioned that all, or nearly all, domesticated dogs, when walking or trotting in a given direction, invariably hold the body more or less obliquely to the line of progress; this oblique position being most noticeable in the smaller short-tailed breeds, such as fox-terriers (Fig. 12), some of which advance in an almost crab-like fashion. On the othe
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