The right fore foot.
From which he springs into the air to re-commence the phases with the left hind foot, while the only phase in which he has been discovered without support is one when the legs are flexed under the body. All of the feet at this time are nearly close together and have comparatively little independent motion; this phase, therefore, more persistently than any other, forces itself upon the attention of the careful observer, and conveys to him the impression of a horse's rapid motion in singular contradiction to the conventional interpretation, until quite recently, usually adopted by the Artist.
It should not be understood that the term "spring" implies that the body of the horse is greatly elevated by that action; were it so, much force would be unnecessarily expended with the result of loss of speed. The center of gravity of a horse trotting or galloping at a high rate of speed will preserve an almost strictly horizontal line, the undulations being very slight.
In the gallop of the horse it is probable there may be sometimes a period of suspension between the lifting of one fore foot and the descent of the other, but it has not yet been demonstrated.
The method of galloping described applies to the horse and its allies, and to most of the cloven and soft-footed animals.
In the gallop of the dog the sequence of foot falling and the action of the body is materially different, and the animal is free from support twice in each stride.
Assuming that a racing hound after a flight through the air with elongated body and extended legs (like the conventional galloping horse), lands upon the left fore foot, the right fore will next touch the ground; from this he will again spring into the air, and with curved body and flexed legs land upon the right hind foot, while the right fore feet will be half the length of the body to the rear. The left hind now descends, another flight is effected, and again the left fore repeats its functions of support and propulsion.
These successive foot fallings are common to all dogs when galloping, and it is worthy of note that the same rotary action in the use of the limbs is adopted in the gallop of the elk, the deer and the antelope, all of which animals, like the dog, can for a time excel the horse in speed.
A search through all the dictionaries published at the time of writing, and accessible to the Author, fails to discover a correct definition of "the gallop." This motion is in America frequently miscalled the "run," and its execution "running," but no corresponding explanation of the word is given by any lexicographer.