The Horse in Action

Book excerpt: For thousands of years, man's artistic efforts to depict the rapid movements executed by horses were largely unsuccessful. Even the camera's eye in nineteenth-century films frequently failed to record a true picture accurately. Of immense interest to equestrian artists, the subject of a horse's precise rhythm was of special concern to students of advanced horsemanship and instructors. Henry Wynmalen, a noted equestrian authority, and illustrator Michael Lyne were among the first to define and depict clearly the sequence of maneuvers made by the horse in its varied gaits. This important study, profusely illustrated with 219 amazing, accurately rendered drawings, documents equine movement in chapters covering the walk, trot, canter, gallop, jump, and racing. A valuable resource for artists and anatomists, The Horse in Action will be of use to anyone interested in the dynamics of animal motion.