The limits on acceleration are commonly described in terms of horsepower, be it from internal combustion or accompanied by real hoofbeats.
But motorbike and drag-racing aficionados know that too much acceleration can lift front wheels off the ground, sacrificing control. Sarah Williams and her colleagues from the Royal Veterinary College in Hatfield, UK, have found that quadrupeds face the same problem.
Data from racing greyhounds (pictured) and polo ponies showed that acceleration limits at high speeds are predicted by models of muscle power. At lower speeds, however, animals do not reach the acceleration theoretically possible from muscle power. Instead they seem to be limited by the rate that would cause the quadruped equivalent of a 'wheelie'.
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Physiology: Ground control. Nature 460, 14 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/460014d
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/460014d
