128 FORM AND ACTION. 



amount, stability, &c. Some professional confreres of ours on 

 the other side of the water, with that indefatigable spirit of cu- 

 rious inquiry for which they are on occasions so much to be lauded, 

 have been at the pains to ascertain the degrees of these changes, 

 and the manner in which they are affected, both in respect to 

 the animal itself and to its rider. 



Messieurs Morris and Baucher*, desirous of ascertaining cor- 

 rectly the influence of the head and neck on the distribution of the 

 weight of the horse upon his four legs, especially upon the fore 

 and hind legs, as pairs, had horses weighed in scales, constructed 

 some years ago at the Custom-house for that especial purpose. 



The first placed upon the balance was a hackney-mare, with 

 saddle and bridle on, well enough shaped, except that she was 

 rather heavy before. She was found to weigh in her fore-hand 

 210 kilogrammes^ , in her hind 174, total 384, difference in fa- 

 vour of the fore-hand 36 ; there being, during the weighing, a 

 fluctuation between three and five kilogrammes arising from the 

 respiratory and visceral movements. The head was now forced 

 down, until the muzzle came to a level with the chest : this made 

 a difference of eight kilogrammes additional on the fore-hand. 

 Elevation of the head, until the muzzle rose as high as the withers, 

 caused a transfer of ten kilogrammes from the fore to hind quarters. 

 The head being released, was next reined in and upward rather : 

 this occasioned a rejection of eight kil. on the hind quarters. 

 From these results we may deduce the conclusion, that the more 

 the head is elevated, either naturally or by the hand, the more 

 its weight and that of the neck is equally distributed upon the 

 limbs, without any thing forced in the position. 



After these experiments, M. Baucher mounted the mare : the 

 weights then stood — fore-hand 251 kil, hind 197, total 448, 

 difference 54. The horseman being placed in an academical po- 

 sition, had his weight, which was 64 kil, distributed thus : 41 kil. 

 upon the fore-hand, and 23 upon the hind. Throwing the body 

 backward occasioned a transfer of 10 kil. from fore to hindward ; 

 then gathering up his reins, he caused a further addition of 8 kil., 



* Extracted from the Journal de Haras, Juin 1835, into Lecoq's l'Exte- 

 rieur du Cheval. 



f A kilogramme is about 2| lbs. troy. 



