Well known story that in 1878 Leland Stanford commissioned a set of photographs to try to prove that a horse does indeed become airborne at certain points, a point with which some of his colleagues dissented.
The GQ: Was this something that was theretofore accepted as fact that among ‘horse people?’ Or was it just a well-known belief that some held? Looking for nny published incidences of debate on the subject before Stanford.
And, I, too, look forward to your feedback!
It was an unanswered question. No one had come up with a method of proof until a string of cameras triggered by trip wires caught a horse with all four hooves off the ground. Both sides were argued up until then.
ETA: Here is the wiki about the subject.
Since all four legs are in the for only a brief moment no one could be certain to have seen then the prevailing notion was likely that all four hooves were never off the ground at the same time.
It’s hard to read because of the resolution butthis link from the wiki to a newspaper article goes into the debate.
Since the artistic convention in depicting galloping horses invariably showed them with all four feet off the ground (extended front and rear, a position horses in reality rarely assume for any reason) I am guessing that most people thought that they all came off the ground, and not the reverse.
These are the kinds of pre-Muybridge depictions of running horses that Ulfreida is referrng to.
Interestingly, it seems that this unnatural posture started appearing in art only in the late 18th century.
Of course, it behooves any animal that wants to run as fast as possible to spend as much time with feet in contact with the ground as possible. During the “in the air” portion if its gait it is not pushing itself forward at all, so it has to be slowing down.
I dunno—the Lascaux cave paintings, which are 17,000 years old, have horses in some pretty similar poses.
I’m not so sure of that. I believe that human speedwalkers are generally slower than runners.
Thing is, the animal isn’t pushing itself forward with a leg that’s in contact with the ground but bending/recovering.
Heh. Behooves.
I’m sorry, but you’re wrong about that. The fastest land mammals are cheetahs and greyhounds, both because their top sprinting speeds are accomplished via what is called the “double-suspension gallop”.
Here is a nice slow-motion video to illustrate. Skip to about 1:24 where they get the whole dog in frame so you can see both suspensions. Once when all four feet are gathered under the body, and then again when all four feet are stretched out.
And here’s a great video comparing greyhounds and cheetahs and explaining how they can be so fast:
Horses are nearly as fast but they run with a single-suspension gallop. Which also answers the OP’s question, that yes, when horses are running at top speed they do get all four feet off the ground once per stride. And here is a slow motion video of a horse in full gallop:
I think it’s interesting that the difference is a matter of fractions of a second during the stride, as to whether they get all the legs off the ground at the same time or not. While looking for these videos I also saw one that claimed to be a cane corso doing a double-suspension but I’m still skeptical. If it accomplished it, it was not consistent throughout the run, and often missed it by a mere moment.
Indeed, there behooves on a horse.
cool videos, thanks!
All of the propulsion comes while a foot is in contact with the ground… but most of the drag comes then, too. If the power from your muscles isn’t constant in time, then it befoots you to have each limb off of the ground whenever its power output is low or zero. There’s a reason why running is faster than walking, and galloping is faster than trotting, and so on. And the animals that don’t touch the ground at all have speeds that blow away the ones that do.
Thanks, everyone.
Also, jumping insects are way faster than walking insects. I think it’s the same for birds (ostrich, roadrunner etc) and amphibians (frogs). Maybe not reptiles though.
Muscles are like gasoline engines, there is a specific speed at which they are most efficient. If you try to walk at 15 mph, your leg muscles are moving much faster than is optimal. It’s like trying to drive a car at 60 mph in 1st gear. Running allows your legs to work more slowly, but exert more force.
If you had a device that changes the mechanical advantage (“gear ratio”) of your legs - say, something that allows you to move your legs continuously at ~100 steps per minute while moving at 30 mph - then that would be more efficient than running. And fortunately, we do have such a device - it’s called a bicycle.
Greyhounds? 
Greyhound buses are very fast at top speed but don’t count as mammals.
Greyhound dogs top out at 46 MPH and fall very short of many other land mammals.
Cheetah 75 MPH
Pronghorn 55 MPH
Springbok 55 MPH
Wildebeest 50 MPH
Lion 50 MPH
Blackbuck 50 MPH
Hare 50 MPH
They are the fastest dog but more than a half dozen other land animals are faster.
By the way, the fastest mammal overall is the Mexican free-tailed bat which can fly almost 100 MPH. (Obviously not a land animal though.)