Change of pace........... to really fast

from sportsvet.com

I'm already sick of the commercialization of Christmas, and heartily sick of the post-election political wrangling, but most of all I'm getting really sick and tired of Boehner, McConnell, Cantor, Ryan et al and their same old same old crap about the rich (who are NOT job creators, they're government corrupters).

So in the spirit of a pleasant break from the shrill December monotony, something completely different: enjoy the video below.  I would draw your attention specifically to the way that a cheetah runs, the double suspension gallop, which is different from the way a horse or many other quadrupeds run.

In both the dog video and the cheetah video, the animals are chasing fake prey pulled in front of them on a type of cord by a machine where a person has an small control box that allows them to vary the speed so as to keep the lure in front of them at varying distances -- which is what makes it fun for the cheetah and the dogs.

Watch for the two stages of the double suspension gallop. In the fully extended phase, both front legs are stretched out in front of the cheetah, completely off the ground, and the rear legs are also fully extended backward, completely off the ground.  In the contraction stage, both of the cheetah's front legs are underneath it's body, again completely off the ground.  The rear legs have extended forward past the front legs, completely off the ground.  The gait is divided into two 'support' phases between the extension and contraction phases, which are called 'flight' phases.

This is also the running style, for example, of greyhounds and other 'speed breeds' known as sighthounds in dogs, but is not characteristic of all dog breeds.  The greater the contraction and extension of an individual animal when running, typically the greater the efficiency and speed, and the more consistent body type of the speed runner across species, demonstrating the principle of form following function (what it does determines shape and structure).

In contrast here is an early film of a horse, showing the order and position in which it places its body while running. And below the horse film footage, is video of whippets engaged in amateur racing - racing done not for money (no betting, etc.), but for the enjoyment of the dogs.  The double suspension gallop occurs when they reach full speed.

Enjoy!