61 



The specimen is a little saddle mare, pretty regularly conformed, 

 except that the head and neck is slightly heavy in proportion with the 

 rest of the body; she was saddled and bridled and held immovably ; the 

 scales showed the following- results: Forehand, 4469-10, Hindhand, 

 3703-iolbs. Total weight, 817-2 -lo. lbs. Overcharge of the Forehand, 76 G-iO lbs 

 or l-li to l-lo of the total weight. 



There was a swaying of the scales of 6.2 to 10.6 pounds, which was 

 caused by the motion of the internal parts, resulting from respiration 

 and which favored alternately fore and hindhand. 



Now the mare's head was lowered until the point of the nose was 

 on a level with the chest, the result was : Forehand, 463 9-10 lbs. Hind- 

 hand, 353 3-10 lbs. Total weight, 81 7 2-10 lbs- Overcharge of the forehand, 

 1106-10 lbs.or 1-8 to 1-7 of total weight. 



When hereafter the head and neck were elevated until the point of 

 the nose had reached the height of the withers, the scales indicated tlms: 

 Forehand, 429 9.10 lbs- Hindhand, 387 3-10 lbs. Total weight, 817 2-10 lbs. 

 Overcharge of the forehand, 42 6-10 lbs. or 1-20 to 1-19 of total weight. 



Those results show clearly the overcharge of the forehand and 

 demonstrate, that the centre of gravity does not fall in the centre of the 

 rectangle, which is formed by the lines connecting the four feet of the 

 horse. They also prove, that the more the horse's head is elevated, be it 

 by natural conformation or the riders hand, the more equally the weight 

 of the head and neck will be distributed over all four legs of the horse- 



It follows, that for the safety of the rider as well as for the preser- 

 vation of the horse's front legs, the rider should unload the forehand as 

 much as possible, by drawing the weight of the head and neck upward 

 and backward. The pupil will therefore raise the horse's neck by the 

 elevation of both hands and then lower the hofse's head in the vertical 

 position by an increased tension of both reins and a lowering of the 

 hands. It is to be remarked here, that it is not the duty of the rider to 

 bring about the desired position by main force, but by giving the reins 

 more or less tension and waiting the yielding of the horse, after 'which 

 they are to be relaxed. 



The position of the head and neck is of vital importance for the con- 

 trol of the horse, and the flexibility of these parts depends iipon the 

 angle formed by the head and neck and upon the angle under which 

 the rein operates upon the mouth. If the horse's head and neck are out- 

 stretched to their full length as it is seen with race horses at full speed, 

 the horse is beyond the immediate control of die rider and this applies 

 more or less to all positions of these parts where the angle is obtuse or 

 more than DO degrees. The same may be said of the position which is 

 caused by the neck being curved downward from the withers and the 

 head bent under so that the horse's mouth rests against the chest. In 

 the first instance the angle of the reins and the horse's head will be too 

 acute, in the latter case too obtuse to have the leverage necessary for 

 the control of the horse. 



The lines formed by the horse's neck, head and reins should consti- 

 tute a right-angled triangle and the face line should stand perpendicu- 

 larly to the ground. 



