THE TYPES OF HORSES 



43 



least distress to himself. The prescribed ways in which the 

 weight is to be carried differentiate the classes of saddle horses. 



Ability to support weight requires comparatively short, stout 

 legs, acting as columns, and a short, strong, closely coupled back 

 and loin, constituting the arch (Fig. 36). 



The actual carrying of the weight is accomplished by the 

 horse's placing himself in such a way as to balance his load. 



Fig. 37. — The saddle type, showing the short top and long under line, sloping shoulders, the 

 high, well-finished withers, and the long, fine, supple neck essential in the saddle horse. 



going well off his hocks, and working his legs under him in such 

 a way as to sustain the weight at all phases of the stride. There 

 is a knack in carrying weight ; the remarkable feats of the expe- 

 rienced baggage man in the handling of trunks can be accounted 

 for on the same principle. Size is secondary to the way a horse 

 is set up, and to the way he goes. 



A saddle horse must be light in the forehand, possess a supple 



