216 HORSE AND MAN. 



The gag-rein, however, does more, and forces 

 the vertebras together, like the overscrewed buffers. 

 If the reader will refer to the figure entitled 

 ' Fashion,' on p. 200, he will see that the whole 

 attitude of the animal is quite different from that of 

 the horse which is entitled 'Nature.' The peculiar 

 position of the legs requires notice. It is not acci- 

 dental, neither is it peculiar to the horse, the animal 

 being the same individual as ' Nature,' though under 

 different circumstances. 



The fore-legs are pushed out in front, and the 

 hind legs extended backwards, while the middle of 

 the spine, below the saddle, is bent downwards. The 

 reason for the attitude is this : The head has been 

 drawn back so far by the bearing-rein, that the 

 pressure on the mouth is continuous, and its force 

 doubled by reason of the mechanical action of the 

 rein. In order, then, to relieve the mouth as much 

 as possible, the horse instinctively stretches out its 

 legs, and compresses the pads between the vertebras, 

 so as to shorten the spine, and thus to lessen the 

 pressure on the mouth. 



In most cases, although the head cannot be bent 

 downwards, it can be lifted upwards, but the coach- 

 man who drove this particular animal (which after- 

 wards went quietly in a snaffle, as in ' Nature ') was 

 so afraid of it, that he fastened its head down with a 



