336 THE HORSE AND HIS STKUCTTJEE. 



droop its head, it is checked by the bearing-rein, the pull 

 on the mouth at C being equal to that on the saddle at A. 



But, the strap of the " gag " bearing-rein is not attached 

 to the bit at all, but to the head-stall at D. Thence it 

 passes through the swivel at c, then through the drop- 

 ring at B, and is then hitched over the saddle-hook at A. 



Now, if the reader will look at the little diagram above 

 the horse's head, 'he will see that, by a well-known 

 mechanical law, a pull of one pound at A is equal to 

 two pounds at c. The gag bearing-rein is nothing more 

 than an adaptation of this mechanical appliance, so that 

 when the horse droops its head, the pull upon its mouth 

 at c is twice as much as that at A. 



Everyone must understand that if a horse cannot 

 throw itself into the collar, and is obliged to draw a 

 carriage by the muscles of the legs instead of the weight 

 of the body, it cannot exercise its full strength. 



Supposing that a man has to drag a heavy truck behind 

 him, or push a heavy barrow before him, does he bend 

 his body backwards or forwards ? And, if his head were 

 tied back so that it rested on his shoulders, could he pull 

 a heavier weight than if his head were free ? And, as to 

 stumbling, could he walk with a surer foot upon uneven 

 and stony ground if his head were dragged back so that 

 he could not see the ground ? 



I have already mentioned that cutting away the frog 

 of the hoof was defended on the ground that it was a 

 preventive of thrush, quitters, and other diseases. So 

 there are thousands of human beings, possessed of average 



