CHAPTER I. 



THE FEAMEWOEK OF THE HOESE CONSIDEEED FEOM A 

 MECHANICAL POINT OF VIEW. 



THE skeleton of the horse is a very wonderful and 

 beautiful piece of mechanism, which no one who takes 

 an interest in such matters can contemplate without 

 experiencing the pleasurable feeling that perfect harmony 

 of proportion always inspires. We were about to add, 

 fitness and adaptability to our purposes, but remembered 

 just in proper time that this would be, after all, a very 

 incorrect mode of expression ; for, in truth, what is 

 highly desirable is, that we should limit and adapt our 

 requirements to the capabilities of this mechanism, and 

 not simply to our own convenience, which but too 

 frequently leads to abuse, as we shall now proceed to 

 show. 



The horse depicted in Plate I.* is of an average 

 description, and stands in a natural position, its head 

 and neck stretched forwards, and the hind legs, instead 

 of being perfectly perpendicular from the hocks down- 

 wards, slightly brought forward to assist in maintaining 

 the equilibrium. The animal is at rest; there is nothing 

 constrained in its attitude ; but the eye tells us at once 

 that a somewhat greater proportion of its weight rests 

 on the fore legs than on the hind ones, owing, as one 

 * Taken from Seeger's " System der Eeitkunst." 



