CAEE AND MANAGEMENT OF ANIMALS 773 



THE AMOUNT OF LABOUB HOESES ARE CAPABLE 

 OF PERFORMING. 



We now come to a question on which very little exact 

 information exists, and on which great divergence of opinion 

 may be held. If the question were put in the form 'What 

 amount of work can a horse perform ?' the answer would 

 be that it first depends upon whether it is intended he shall 

 carry a weight or drag one ; but under either circumstance 

 the daily work is the product of three quantities, viz., the 

 effort exerted, the velocity with which it is performed, and 

 finally, the length of time daily during which the work is 

 continual. 



The question of ' effort ' is an extremely interesting one 

 from the physiologist's point of view, and obviously differs 

 depending upon whether it is that entailed in carrying a 

 weight or in dragging a load; in either case the effort 

 capable of being rendered is governed by the animal's 

 body-weight. 



Dealing first with the weight carried, we have shown* that 

 the mean ratio of a horse's carrying power as compared with 

 his body-weight is as 1 : 5"757. In other words it takes 

 5'757 lbs. of the animal's body-weight to carry 1 lb. of 

 weight on the back during severe exertion. The original 

 paper must be consulted for the methods employed in 

 obtaining these results. The fact remains that a horse 

 cannot effectively carry a greater weight than, in round 

 numbers, about one-fifth to one-sixth of his body-weight. 

 So that in order to arrive at the weight an animal should 

 carry all that is required is to divide his body- weight by 

 5-767. Assuming his body-weight was 1,000 lbs., this 

 would mean he was up to nearly twelve and a half stone 

 exclusive of saddle, while if the animal is not intended for 

 hunting, or exceptionally severe saddle work, one or two 

 stone may be added to this, depending entirely on the 

 velocity at which the work is performed. 



* ' Relation between the Weight of a Horse and its Weight-carry- 

 ing Power': Journal of Comparative Pathology and Therapeutics, 

 January, 1899. 



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