CH. X ACTION OF A HORSE IN DRAUGHT 1 83 



to the impulse of his weight, he is forced to support 

 himself by advancing a leg, and he continues to 

 move, throwing his weight forward. 



As in the case of the man, the heavier the horse, 

 the more he can pull, a fact well recognised by those 

 who use horses for slow, heavy draught. A horse 

 with a man on his back will pull a heavier load than 

 without the man, and the weight which is sometimes 

 hung on the yoke of a pair of oxen produces the 

 same result ; the advantage in both cases, however, 

 is obtained at the cost of additional strain upon the 

 legs and on the general powers of the animal. A 

 heavy animal has more weight of his own to move 

 than a light one, and he must therefore be propor- 

 tionately stronger ; and this becomes more impor- 

 tant as the pace is increased, since a speed may be 

 reached when all the power of the animal is em- 

 ployed in moving himself and nothing is left for 

 purposes of draught. In selection of horses for 

 service this should be duly taken into considera- 

 tion ; for slow stages on soft roads, or for starting 

 a coach on grass and earth, heavy wheelers are de- 

 sirable, but for fast work on good, hard roads, light, 

 quick, active horses are the best. These are im- 

 portant points in distributing horses along a road for 

 service on different stages, and show the judgement, 

 good or bad, of the person undertaking this duty. 



If a horse weighing iooo pounds throws himself 

 forward into such a position (Fig. 79) that his 

 weight overhangs the points of support 4 inches, 



