The Locomotor Apparatus. 353 



The entire question of the weight a horse can carry 

 must depend upon the pace at which he has got to carry it, 

 but under any circumstances is largely influenced by the 

 weight of the animal's own body. We are not far from the 

 truth in saying that the mean weight of a riding horse is 

 1,000 lbs., and the question is what proportion should the 

 weight he carries bear to his own body- weight. On this 

 point I have made some careful observations, through its 

 important bearing on the cavalry service, and have shown 

 that cavalry horses should not be asked to carry more than 

 one-fifth of their body-weight, and this conclusion will 

 doubtless apply to all saddle horses. The one-fifth of the 

 body-weight of a cavalry horse is roughly 14| stones. 

 Instead of carrying this, they carry at least 20 stone. I 

 found in a cavalry regiment that the effective carrying 

 capacity of the horses was between the one-fifth and one- 

 sixth of their body- weight, and that if the horse's weight 

 be divided by 5 6 7 we got a figure which represented the 

 weight it should carry. These results were arrived at 

 by weighing a large number of horses, the weight each 

 being 'up to' having been previously estimated by an 

 expert. 



The physiological features of Draught can only be glanced 

 at. The subject of draught is a very big one, and our 

 information is still very incomplete. 



Quadrupeds appear to be designed for the purpose of 

 draught. A horizontal spine is not intended for carrying 

 weight. This can only be satisfactorily met by an upright 

 column, as in man, who, from his conformation, is essentially 

 devised for carrying a burden ; the horse, on the other hand, is 

 constructed for hauling or draught. Youatt, in his article on 

 ' Draught,'* points out that the reason why a horse is more 

 suited for draught than for carrying weight, is that he can 

 throw his weight considerably in front of his centre of 

 gravity, the feet forming the fulcrum, and 'allowing the 

 weight of the body in its tendency to descend to act 

 against the resistance applied horizontally, and drag it 



* ' Book of the Horse.' 



23 



