66 THE HORSE. 



quarters will it be useful in carrying weight ; but this is quite 

 irrespective of the loin, which may be arched or flat in conjunction 

 with either formation. It is, however, most common to find an 

 arched loin united with an inclined pelvis, and when the two are 

 found together, the horse possessing this formation may be con- 

 sidered so far as " up to weight." Sometimes wo see the pelvis 

 inclined, but the tail set on high, and the loin hollow, and then we 

 may surely predicate that there will be a want of power in these 

 parts, and that the seven stone of Lord Kedesdale will be quite 

 sufficient for the animal to carry. With this objectionable shape, 

 there is a hollow on each side of the croup, which is very charac- 

 teristic of the defect, and which is carefully eschewed by the expe- 

 rienced horseman. If the spine between the two supports afforded 

 by the fore and hind extremities were really an arch, length would 

 but little affect it, for we know that an arch of ninety feet span, is 

 no stronger than one of a hundred feet, if both are properly con- 

 structed; but being nearly a straight line, with its component parts 

 kept in their proper places, by a series of levers and pullies, length 

 tells most unfavorably; and " a short back, with plenty of length 

 below," is the height of the horseman's ambition to possess. 



Mr. Percivall has fallen into a strange error in estimating tne 

 advantages of a long back, as may be readily seen on an examina- 

 tion of the following passage : — " Regarding the dorsal portion of 

 the spine, with its superimposed burthen, as a pole or lever, sup- 

 ported in front by the fore limbs, and behind by the back limbs, 

 after the manner of a barrel of beer, or a sedan between its bearers; 

 it is manifest, that the greater its length, the greater must be the 

 leverage, and consequent reduction of the weight of the burthen. 

 On this principle, the legs of the long-backed horse are actually 

 sustaining less load than those of the short-backed horse, even 

 though their riders or burthens may be of equivalent weights, from 

 the circumstance of their operating at a greater distance from the 

 load." The fallacy of this argument is apparent to every person 

 who has the slightest knowledge of mechanical powers ; but as my 

 readers may not at all be in a position to estimate its value, I shall 

 just make a few observations upon it, as I have heard it adduced 

 on several occasions, to support the advantage of a long back. Now 

 we will suppose a weight of 500 pounds on a plank, supported upon 

 four props, two being five feet from the other two, and the pairs 

 one foot apart, resembling, in fact, the relative position of the feet 

 of a horse. Let the whole be arranged on a weighing machine, so 

 that only the four legs touch its table, and take the weight. Then 

 remove the two pairs of legs to a distance of six feet, and again 

 take the weight. According to Mr. Percivall it ought to be less 

 than before, but, tested by actual experiment, there will not be the 

 hundredth part of a grain variation, even if the instrument is suffi- 



