28 CONFORMATION AND ITS DEFECTS 



ex^ct knowledge of his anatomical and mechanical construction. It is 

 by a study of conformation that we assign to a horse the particular 

 place and purpose to which he is best adapted as a living machine and 

 estimate his capacity for work, and the highest success in this connec- 

 tion will be best attained by the judicious blending of practice with 

 science. 



CENTRE OF GRAVITY 



One important step towards an appreciation of the eflfects of con- 

 formation on the progression and utility of the horse is a general under- 

 standing of the location of the centre of gravity, the disturbances which 



it is liable to undergo as 



1 ^ •' ■ ^ • ^ — ■ -;- -^ a consequence of the various 



movements of the body in 



locomotion, and the special in- 



riuence of conformation in ac- 



] celerating and determining the 



N.I, 1 



^"- - extent of such disturbances. 



In dealing with this branch of 

 Pig 16 the subject, our readers need 



hardly be reminded that all 

 bodies whatsoever, whether living or dead, are influenced by the force 

 of gravity in such a way that they are drawn towards the earth. Every 

 body, whether large or small, is composed of a number of molecules- 

 more or less regularly distributed throughout its mass, and upon each 

 of which the pull of gravity is exerted, hence results the exercise of a 

 number of small parallel forces acting in the same direction. 



What is called the centre of gravity will be found in the centre of 

 these parallel forces, which may or may not be in the centre of the body. 

 If the molecules making up the mass be of the same kind and uniformly 

 distributed throughout it, the force of gravity will be exercised on all 

 parts alike, in which case the centre of gravity will he in the centre 

 of the body. If, on the other hand, the molecules be more numerous 

 in one part than another, or in other words, if one part be more dense 

 than another, the force of gravity wull attract that part more, in which 

 case the centre of gravity, instead of being situated in the middle of the 

 bodv, is drawn nearer to the part which weighs the most. 



To illu.strate this point let us take the case of a rod made up of a 

 number of particles equal in weight and equally distributed throughout it, 

 as shown in fig. 16, No. 1. 



Here the several component particles being attracted towards th& 



