The Fra7?iczvo7'k of the Horse. 35 



while p corresponds with the fourteenth vertebra at E ; 

 and, still leaving the head and neck out of the question, 

 the rider placed here would sit not only directly over 

 the centre of motion^ but also over the centre of gravity 

 — that is to say, a central point equally removed from 

 each of its four supporting points ;* he would occupy 

 the apex or summit of a regular pyramid, the most stable 

 of all forms of construction. 



Let us now suppose the rider, or the weight, whatever 

 it may consist of, placed farther back toward the horse's 

 loins, corresponding to the point f^ of fig. I. What 

 does the horse do if compelled to stand still under a 

 burden that is more than his hind legs can easily sup- 

 port with perpendicular hocks? Let the reader turn 

 to Plate VIL, where the English hussar there presented 

 shows the horse extending his hind legs precisely in the 

 way indicated in fig. i, x" x^. What between the rider 

 sitting at the hinder part of the saddle and the weight of 

 the enormous pack, the perpendicular passing through 

 the centre of gravity of the whole falls considerably in 

 rear of the fourteenth vertebra. This figure is photo- 

 graphed from life, and is very instructive. The horse, 

 certainly not a fair specimen of the regiment or of the 

 cavalry in general, was selected, probably, for no other 



* It is to be remarked that the points on which the horse's feet 

 stand seldom coincide exactly — that is. lie precisely under the shoul- 

 der and hip joints respectively. The fore feet especially seldom 

 reach even with the toes, the perpendiculars from the shoulder- 

 joints. With Eclipse they did so naturally, with tolerably well- 

 built horses moderately " set up" they will generally do so; and if 

 the setting-up is carried beyond a certain point, they not only reach 

 but project before them, the two hind feet either following propor- 

 tionately in the same direction, or going to the rear, as may be seen 

 when the horse-dealer "stretches a horse," in order to show how 

 much ground it covers. There is a great difference, too, between the 

 jointed flexible legs of a horse and the rigid straight ones represented 

 in fig. I. An animal always exerts a certain amount of muscular ac- 

 tion to maintain its balance even when resting. 



