i8 THE HORSE AS A RIDING MACHINE. 



that in ordinary riding, we should endeavour to keep the 

 horse light in front. 



A horse's muscles work at such mechanical disadvantage 

 in carrying a weight, that special precautions have to be 

 taken to avoid injury to the surfaces upon which the weight 

 is placed. Bare-backed riding is so uncomfortable to the 

 man and so liable to hurt the horse, that we may accept the 

 necessity of a saddle, which has the great advantage of dis- 

 tributing the weight evenly, and thus rendering it more easy 

 to be carried. The use of a saddle, of course, demands the 

 adoption of precautions for the avoidance of sore backs. 



The mouth of a horse lends itself in an admirable manner 

 to the restraining power of man, by reason of the interval 

 (the bars) which exists between the tushes and the back 

 teeth (Fig. 27). Were it not for this peculiarity, we would 

 be unable to use a bit, and would be obliged to depend on a 

 nose-band or similar contrivance for keeping our horses in 

 hand. A not less important circumstance, is the fact that the 

 muscles which bend a horse's head and neck to one side are 

 comparatively weak, and consequently a rider has a consider- 

 able amount of power in turning a horse's head to one side. 



The position of a horse's head and neck, which in a well 

 trained animal can be regulated to a considerable extent by a 

 good horseman, plays a large part in the amount of control 

 and guidance possessed by a rider. It is evident that the 

 higher the head is carried and consequently drawn back, the 

 more are the fore legs relieved of weight ; and the more 

 it is advanced to the front, the greater is the weight 

 placed on them. Raising a horse's head, so as to make him 

 more or less " star-gaze," is bad horsemanship when done 

 with the object of lightening the fore-hand ; because it puts 

 his head into a position in which the bit cannot act effec- 

 tively — an objection that applies equally well to the position 

 of the head when it is brought down towards the knees. If, 



