Do horses legs leave the ground at a gallop?
![Do horses legs leave the ground at a gallop? - Sketchplanations](https://images.prismic.io/sketchplanations/209d4d10-d902-4323-b1a3-2749fd3041ce_150813801616.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&w=3840&q=50)
There’s a famous photo series by Eadweard Muybridge that shows, unequivocally, that while galloping all four of a horse’s legs leave the ground. I’d always heard that’s what they trying to find out at the time, but from what I’ve read it was more a question of at what points do a horse’s legs leave the ground. The photos show the somewhat surprising state of leaving the ground while the horse’s legs are tucked, not when they are outstretched. It’s a lovely example of what Edward Tufte calls small multiples.
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