We’ve been very horse-busy these past few weeks. I don’t know if a day went by without us spending time with our horses or going somewhere “horsey”. This weekend we went to a local horse show and watched our new horse, Romeo, compete in the barrels. He came in second in one class so we’re very proud of him and his rider (Dangerous D). I can’t wait to barrel race! I managed to capture a few cool photos at the event. It was VERY hot and humid but my camera appreciated the extra light. Normally these events are in the evening or after dark and it’s hard to get good photos from a distance.

The photo below is one of several where I caught all four hooves off of the ground. This reminded me of a controversy 150 years ago where people wondered whether or not all four horse hooves are ever in the air at the same time. It happens so fast, the human eye can’t tell without some technological assistance. In the late 1800’s, a photographer named Eadweard Muybridge rigged up a series or cameras and tripwires to capture a horse at gallop in sequence. The result was the closest thing to a movie ever produced at that time. I’m sure some money was wagered and won by some because Muybridge’s photos prooved there are times with all four hooves are in the air. Below is one of my photos followed by a still shot from a Muybridge sequence. If you click the title of this post, it will take you to a page that shows the sequence in motion. It’s 566k so I didn’t want to clog up our front page. Incidentally, the sequence in motion is one of the very earliest “movies” ever created. He produced several.

The still version is above. View this full post to see the animated version.