THE REASONED EQUITATION 



bridle, with his hind legs on one of two platform 

 scales and his fore feet on the other. If he took 

 naturally a state of perfect equilibrium, he would 

 thereupon register a weight of two hundred and 

 fifty pounds with each foot, five hundred pounds at 

 each end. 



But as a matter of fact, the forward scales regis- 

 ter 612 pounds; the rear scales only 388. The horse 

 will not distribute his weight equally between the 

 two pairs of limbs, unless his naturally wrong posi- 

 tion is rectified by the demonstrator. 



For this purpose, I add a twelve-pound saddle 

 and three pounds of bridle ; making the new weight 

 1015 pounds, which the horse distributes, ten 

 pounds in front and five behind. I take the reins of 

 the bit and raise the animal's head. At once the 

 weights change, and become more nearly equal. 

 The front scales now show 522 pounds and the 

 rear 493. Fifty pounds has shifted to the hind legs. 



Still keeping the head up, with the aid of a whip, 

 I place the hind legs side by side, and both per- 

 pendicular to the horizontal line of the horse's 

 spine. All the while, I bear lightly on the bit and 

 flex the head at the atlas region. The scales now 

 indicate 510 pounds on the fore legs, 505 pounds on 

 the rear ones. This difference of five pounds arises 

 from the impossibility for a man on foot of keep- 

 ing the front legs exactly perpendicular upon the 

 scales or obtaining perfect flexion at the atlas region. 

 Allowing for this small difference, we have here an 



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