The Frame-jjork of the Horse. 37 



from these facts, we must take another view of the ques- 

 tion. What we have hitherto inquired into is, the etfect 

 of certain modes of distributing the weight on a horse's 

 back when in a state of rest on the position of his legs 

 with regard to that weight ; but the really important 

 thing to know is, how these various modes influence 

 the horse's action. It was, however, necessary to enter 

 into the preliminary inquiry, because most of the con- 

 ditions governing a horse's attitude in a state of rest 

 continue to be equally imperative after action has com- 

 menced, and some even more so ; for it is more dan- 

 gerous to the horse to lose his balance when in motion, 

 especially at high degrees of speed, than when standing 

 still. 



We may put the questions to be resolved as follows : 

 ist. How does the distribution of the weight to be car- 

 ried affect the horse's speed? and, 2dly, How does action 

 affect equilibrium or balance? 



The way in which these questions present themselves 

 points directly to their solution ; and, as regards the 

 first, it is to the horse's legs, and the mode in which 

 they are moved^ that we must look, just as in the for- 

 mer case we looked to the mode in which they are 

 Jixed. There is, however, a great difference observable 

 between the functions of the hind and fore legs when 

 we come to compare action with rest. In the latter, 

 we were justified in looking on both pairs eqiially as 

 bearers ; in the former, the fore legs are still employed 

 chiefly as bearers, and only in a smaller degree as pro- 

 pellers, whereas the hind legs act chiefly as propellers 

 and in a less degree as bearers. It should follow from 

 this that we may favor the propelling power of the 

 hind legs by weighting forward within ce7'iai7i limits; 

 and this we know to be the case — the long stride of the 

 race-horse is favored by the well-known forward seat 

 of tlie jockey. Well, what are the limits? In the case 



