MECHANICAL EXPLANATION. TREAD OF THE FOOT. -^ 



•ar. Bu* fi horse not being like a table, immoveably fixed upon its legs, but being 

 required not only to bear up but to proceed with his load, — which is sometimes 

 eflected with difficulty on account of ils weight; then must his powers ol 

 pressing onwards be estimated by the positions in which he can place the 

 bones of his hinder part, the legs particularly, since it is to these the propul 

 sion of his body forwards is chiefly indebted. In 

 his efforts to accomplish this duty, the position 

 of his hind legs will resemble those of the second 

 table in the margin, stretched out constantly as 

 these are, and each leg alternately twice as much 

 beyond his body ; while his fore legs will bend 

 under him alternately also, like those in the first 

 table. In both movements his legs are stretched 

 to their utmost when the drag is up hill, because the resistance to be overcome 

 is then greatest, and we can thus form an opinion how much "he has the 

 free use of his legs." When this is the case, all horses step short ; but, upon 

 even ground, the hind leg, to be perfect, should come finely forward in the 

 walk, and occupy the identical spot which the fore leg had just quitted. See 

 further at Section 8. As the horse gets old, is tired, disordered, or over-much 

 laden, he ceases to do this as usual, in the exact ratio that he is affected the 

 one way or the other. 



4. Mares, occasionally, and skittish horses, frequently bring their legs to- 

 gether, much resembling the first figure, and are insecure roadsters as well as 

 poor draught horses. The second sketch is the walking motion of an unladen 

 cart-horse or a coach-horse standing still ; these, as well as hunters, take the 

 same position, which indicates that they have the free use of their limbs. In 

 the drag, the former bring their fore legs under their bodies, the principle be- 

 mg ap[)licable to any quadruped performing the like task ; and such a horse 

 would consequently fall down forward but for the resistance of the load he 

 draws. But this accident seems provided for, by the power the horse has of 

 contracting the muscles (see Section 10), and drawing up quickly the lower 

 part of his limb, in time to get it out of the way of his hind leg, both motions 

 forming each a separate effort toward progression. I still have in view a walk 

 ing pace, all other paces being no other than modifications of the walk ; and, 

 in fact, "a horse that walks well can do any thing else well," an aphorism 

 that is atwin with one equally well founded in the preceding section. 



With some horses, the hind foot, instead of coming forward, as described at 

 (he bottom of the last section, upon the spot of ground marked by the fore one, 

 falls short of the mark. — These never turn out fast ones, although their fault 

 does not always consist in the shape or disproportion of the bones, bjt in the 

 contraction of the muscle or tendon (see this tendon described under the head of 

 "Foot"); at times it is owing to the relaxation of the immediate coverings of 

 the bones, described at Section 16. Such horses may be well enough to look 

 at, but can not perform properly. The extreme of this misfortune is termed 

 stringhalt ; but every approach towards it, however trivial, is good cause tor 

 rejecting the animal. In case of the hind foot coming too far forward (in tho 

 walk still) and striking the fore one, the fault lies in want of sufficient strength 

 (or quickness) in the fore hg ; besides which see further at Section 10. If the 

 hind foot comes down sometimes inside, at others outside, the just quitted 

 situation of the fore foot, the animal has a disagreeable rolling in his gait from 

 side to side, the fault being as often in the fore leg as in the hinder one, some- 

 times in both. Such horses commence a journey with much apparent confi- 

 dence, but tiring soon, they fall into their old error, and the security they have 

 inspired is found to be deceptions : — many accidents are the consequence 

 This fault I hesitate whether to ascribe to the fore leg or the hind one but it 



