USE OF THE SPURS. 163 



ing any of the joints of his hind parts. In 

 fact, since it is the hocks which propel 

 the mass forward, destroying their motion 

 suffices to stop the bound. The spur, by 

 instantly bringing the hind legs under the 

 horse's belly, destroys their power from 

 the moment the hand comes, in the nick 

 of time, to fix them in that position. 

 Then the haunches bend, the croup is 

 lowered ; the weight and forces arrange 

 themselves in the order most favorable to 

 the free and combined play of each part, and 

 the violence of the shock, infinitely decom- 

 posed, is scarce perceptible either to horse 

 or rider. 



If, on the -contrary, we stop the horse by 

 making the hand move first, the hocks re- 

 main far in the rear of the plumb-line ; the 

 shock is violent, painful for the animal, and 

 especially injurious to his physical organiza- 



