POINTS. 411 



by the drag of the collar, the tug of the shafts, and the generally pend 

 ent position of the head, the reader may conjecture the force with which 

 the limb must be driven to the earth, especially during any rapid in- 

 crease of motion. 



The continued battering to which the leg is subjected naturally ex- 

 poses it to much suffering, which the comparative fixedness in the stable 

 greatly aggravates. As the uses are severe, so are its afflictions painful ; 

 and it hazards nothing to assert that very much of the sorrow which visits 

 the animal is dependent upon the diseases or the accidents which are in- 

 separable from these forward supports of the body and of the load. 



When, however, the person called upon to exercise a judgment in the 

 purchase of a nag is so new to the subject as to be incapable, of forming 

 an opinion, there is one primary test which seldom deceives ; and upon 

 the evidence thus evolved the merest tyro is fully qualified to pronounce. 

 Let such a man mount the animal, and, when seated in the saddle, he 

 can surely decide whether he appears to be close upon the neck or 

 placed far behind upon the back. A well-made animal, by the inclina- 

 tion of the shoulder and by the amplitude of the withers, forbids the 

 forward location of its rider; whereas a worthless quadruped, by the 

 lowness of the first dorsal spines and the upright position of the blade- 

 bones, allows the rider almost to rest upon its neck — thereby, because 

 of the greater weight to be supported by the front limbs, increasing the 

 natural liability of the forward members to exhibit disease. 



The reason why such a formation should be specially noticed is, upon 

 reflection, made apparent. The hind legs, by their greater motor power, 

 always have a disposition to throw the weight upon the forward member. 

 When this tendency is augmented by the burden on the back, the conse- 

 quence must be a destruction of any approach to an equilibrium. 



The horse's body is, by nature, given four props — one at each corner 

 of the trunk. But when a human load is lodged almost over the fore 

 limb ; when the front leg is placed far behind the chest ; and when the 

 head swings in advance, — all approach to a proportionate amount of 

 burden is destroyed. The forward extremities then take a position 

 almost in the middle of the substance, a proportionate incumbrance 

 being removed from the posterior extremities. The hind members have 

 less to do, and excessive duty is imposed upon the weaker organs, the 

 motor machine being deprived of safety during progression. 



While on the back, the rider should ascertain the shoulders are of 

 equal bulk, or have not suffered injury, and that the trunk is sufficiently 

 developed to afford a secure grip for the thighs of the master. Many 

 animals are so narrow as to necessitate sensible muscular exertion on 

 the part of an equestrian, and thus materially to detract from the pleasure 



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