This étude features distinct sections, separated by progressions in double octaves. After a short ad libitum cadenza, the main theme is presented in octaves accompanied by thirds in the center of the keyboard, giving the impression of a horse galloping in a cloud of dust. The theme returns immediately this time with a thinner texture. After a chromatic scale in alternating octaves arrives, the quieter "Lo stesso tempo" occurs in which the left hand plays a modified version of the theme while the right hand plays arpeggios in intervals up and down the keyboard. An "Il canto espressivo ed appassionato assai" () immediately follows in which the main theme reappears, this time accompanied by repeated thirds in both hands in addition to a chromatic scale in the left.