Did you know that until the early days of Moving Pictures there was much debate as to how horses moved. Sme said that they ran and others said that they hopped kinda like a rabbit. There was also much debate about the leg action on gaited horses. Seems odd today but it wasn't that long ago.

Interesting you say that, Mike. As early as 350 BC, a writer named Xenophon had written a long treatise on the horse - some of which I've actually used as a theoretical base for some of my interactions with horses. Though I do not pretend to be well-read in this, he had definite ideas as to what made a "good" horse - one which would or should be kept and nurtured and trained.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Horsemanship_(Xenophon)

Occasionally our local library sells off books for 25 cents each, I've found some good books there. One being a history of horses in art. It is interesting to see what people found appealling in horses through the years. The TB of the 1700 and early 1800's were especially bizzare, with huge rounded bodys, pencil thin necks and tiny little heads. Horses shown moving were amazing as well, horses that trot with all four feet off the ground. Motion pictures have done alot in our understanding of how the horse really moves, but sometimes they can still do some manuevers that defy logic and gravity, which usually results with the rider sitting on the ground, questioning the laws of motion.