Post by horseguy on Oct 2, 2015 17:29:35 GMT
The following is from the book, “Training Hunters, Jumpers and Hacks” by Harry D. Chamberlin first published in 1937, this is taken from the 1978 Arco edition pages 23/24
*note: that the term “gallop” is used here more or less interchangeably with the word “canter” because in this period of equestrian history the canter was considered a slow 3 beat gallop and the gallop a four beat gait. Some controversial writers today consider the gallop a five beat because they count the moment of suspension as a beat.
If galloping slowly (cantering) with the right lead, the gait has three beats; 1st (beat) – left hind; 2d (beat) – right hind and left fore; there is now an instant when three feet are in support, until the left hind is lifted leaving the right hind and left fore only in support; 3rd (beat) – right fore. As the right fore grounds, the right hind and both front feet give again a tripedal support until the right hind lifts. This is followed by the lifting of the left fore, leaving only the right fore in support. The right fore leg, now used as a pole vaulter uses his pole, receives the impulsion from the hind legs which projects the whole mass of the horse into the air over this right fore into the period of suspension which occurs in each galloping stride.
As the gallop becomes fast, a four-beat gait results because the right hind comes to ground an instant ahead of the left fore. At racing gallop the tripedal phases of support disappear, and all four feet are planted on approximately a single straight line. The horse carries his croup slightly to the right, if leading right, which favorably disposes his two right legs to ground in advance of the left ones. It also places the bipedal supporting diagonal (left fore and right hind when leading right) on a broadened base which steadies the equilibrium laterally as the hind legs propel the horse forward. A good galloper's feet travel close to the ground (“daisy cutter”) with little knee and hock action. The hind feet come forward well under the belly with an easy, free swinging of the hind legs and the hock apparently flexes very little. The forehand appears well balanced and light, flowing smoothly along without jerkiness. The shoulder blades and arms appear free and relaxed in their action, while the fore feet reach far out to the front, with fetlock joints supple and springy, as the feet strike earth. There should be no flinging of the fore or hiind feet outward or inward when galloping when the gallop is viewed from directly in front or behind of the horse. A single stride at a gallop varies from about 12 feet at slow speed to twenty-seven feet at top racing speed.
Chamberlin was a keen observer of equine biomechanics. He learned to ride in his 20's at the Military Academy at West Point and became an Olympic rider in a relatively short time. I have always imagined that his success in riding was his adult analytic viewpoint. Many of us learned to ride as children and this may cause us inadvertently to perpetually hold less adult and more simplistic child like views on the technical aspects of riding. I must admit that I was in my 30's before I truly began to observe and analyze biomechanics. Before then I "just rode" with a lot of immature feel and youthful energy. When I added in a more observant analytical perspective to my riding, it caused a deepening of my understanding.
For example, this description of the gallop puts atypical emphasis on the fractional moments when the horse is supported by three legs. It is thus about the beats and equally about what happens in between the beats. This is the in depth kind of observation that helps us understand the feel of the canter and gallop. It describes suspension in very clear terms.
That's what this board is intended to be about, the deeper understanding of horsemanship to the point of being able to express what is sometimes nearly impossible to define and convey. Chamberlin and so many others of his era took horsemanship to new heights of performance and understanding. The only reason this informative process was interrupted was the rise of the automobile. I know today there are those who feel all we have to do is "just ride", and there is a lot to this approach in terms of developing "feel". But there is more. What offends me are those who dismiss these equestrians, mostly cavalrymen, as old dead guys. There are today many such superficial horse owners and riders and I find this sad. It's a sport, not a hobby.
