THE FEAMEWOEK OF THE HORSE. 23 



the position z^ x^, and in this case it will slant the 

 other way, the end c d being lower. 



Now this is just what takes place when a rider is 

 put on a horse's back in r.nalogous positions, leaving 

 out of the question for the moment the influence of the 

 overhanging head and neck on the stability of the 

 machine. Referring back to Plate I., we see, in ftict, 

 that the points a and d of the board correspond with 

 the hip and shoulder joints A and D on the one side 

 of the horse, as h and c do with the same joints on 

 the other, and these are the two points of support of 

 the back, whilst p corresponds with the fourteenth ver- 

 tebra at E ; and, still leaving the head and neck out 

 of the question, the rider placed here would sit not 

 only directly over the centre of motion, hut also over the 

 centre of gravity — that is to say, a central point equally 

 removed from each of its four supporting points f he 

 would occupy the apex or summit of a regular pyra- 

 mid, the most stable of all forms of construction. 



Let us now suppose the rider, or the weight, whatever 

 it may consist of, placed farther back towards the horse's 



* It is to be remarked that the points on which the horse's feet 

 stand seldom coincide exactly — that is, lie precisely under t\\e 

 shoulder, and hip joints respectively. The fore feet especially sel- 

 dom reach, even with the toes, the perpendiculars fromtheshoul- 

 der-joints. With Eclipse they did so naturally, with tolerably 

 well-built horses moderately "set up" they will generally do so ; 

 and if the setting-up is carried beyond a certain point, they not 

 only reach but project before them, the two hind feet either fol- 

 lowing proportionately in the same direction, or going to the rear, 

 as may be seen when the horse-dealer "stretchesahorse,"in order 

 to show how much ground it covers. There is a great difference, 

 too, between the jointed flexible legs of a horse, and the rigid 

 straight ones represented in lig. 1. An animal always exerts a 

 certain amount of muscular action to maintain its balance even 

 when resting. 



