WEIGHT-BEARING SURFACES. 115 



wards when the fore leg of the same side is advanced, and 

 rotates forwards when it is drawn back. Bone, as we all 

 know, is very sensitive to pressure, and soon becomes inflamed 

 if subjected to its influence for any considerable time. 

 Hence, the saddle should be kept clear of the withers, the 

 shoulder-blade, and the middle line of the back and 

 loins. Muscle and skin are much less sensitive to pressure 

 than bone, and consequently we find that the muscles 

 on each side of the back and loins are capable of bearing 

 with comparative impunity the pressure of the saddle, pro- 

 vided that it is evenly distributed by a soft medium, such 

 as a well-stuffed panel, and that it is not continued too long. 

 Pressure on or close to the rearmost point of the shoulder- 

 blade, would not only be liable to set up inflammation, but 

 would also injuriously interfere with the movements of the 

 fore legs. 



Although the loins, owing to the fact of their being unpro- 

 vided with ribs, are much less able to bear weight than 

 the back ; we find that they suffer no injury from taking a 

 share of the pressure of a saddle containing a rider, provided, 

 of course, that ordinary precautions are observed. No doubt 

 this ability on the part of the loins to bear pressure is due in a 

 great measure to the fact of the back ribs sloping to the rear, 

 and thereby taking a portion of the weight which would 

 otherwise fall on the transverse processes of the vertebrae of 

 the loins. This comparative immunity possessed by the 

 muscles of the loins to bear pressure, is well illustrated by the 

 use of a properly made and properly stuffed side-saddle, the 

 bearing surface of which always extends, in a backward 

 direction, beyond the last vertebra of the back. For prac- 

 tical purposes we might assume the length of the weight- 

 bearing surfaces of the back and loins to be about 22 or 23 

 inches. Their width will, however, vary a good deal accord- 

 ing to the shape of the particular animal. We may approxi- 



8* 



