54 METHOD OF HORSEMANSHIP. 



II. 



OF THE FORCES OF THE HORSE. 



Of their causes and effects. The horse, 

 like all organized beings, is possessed of a 

 weight and a force peculiar to himself. The 

 weight inherent to the material of which 

 the animal is composed, renders the mass 

 inert, and tends to fix it to the ground. 

 The force, on the contrary, by the faculty it 

 gives him of moving this weight, of divid- 

 ing it, of transferring it from one of his parts 

 to another, communicates movement to his 

 whole being, determines his equilibrium, 

 speed, and direction. To make this truth 

 more evident, let us suppose a horse in 

 repose. His body will be in perfect equi- 

 librium, if each of its members supports 

 exactly that part of the weight which de- 



