440 



THE EXTERIOR OF THE HORSE. 



Hence the animal, as soon as he is left to himself, will resume the 

 attitude of free station in order to ease his muscles. 

 Three different conditions may present themselves : 



1. Either the members approach the centre of gravity two by two, 

 and thus converge more or less by their hoofs. 



2. Or they deviate from this centre, — that is to say, are inclined in 

 an inverse sense, converge above and diverge below. 



3. Or, finally, their direct axis is parallel to the vertical line. 

 These three situations constitute the attitudes in which the horse 



has been said, respectively, to " rassembler," or gather up ; to " camper," 

 or stretch out ; and to " placer," or stand right up. Let us rapidly 

 pass them in review. 



In the rassembler (Fig. 144), or " gathering up," the four feet 

 are brought towards the centre of the base of support, whose length is 



Fig. 144.— The rassembler. 



Fig. 145.— The camper. 



less than three-fourths of the height of the horse. Hence there results 

 a closing of most of the articular angles, as well as a lessened stability 

 of the equilibrium : two causes of fatigue which soon oblige the animal 

 to assume the attitude of free station. When thus " gathered up" he 

 is ready to execute easily the principal movements, — Jumping, moving 

 to the right, to the left, forward, or backward. In the riding-school the 

 animal is made to assume this attitude by combined actions of the 

 hands and the legs. 



In the camper, or "stretching out," on the contrary (Fig. 145), 

 the members are respectively lengthened forward and backward from 

 the body, which augments the extent of the base of support. The 

 length of the latter then exceeds three-fourths of the height of the 

 horse. The dorso-lumbar region, in this case, is concave, sway-backed, 

 and progression becomes difficult. The posterior members are incapa- 

 ble of communicating to the trunk an efficacious impulse, because they 



