40 DISTRIBUTION OF WEIGHT IN THE HORSE'S BODY, 



CHAPTER VI. 



DISTRIBUTION OF WEIGHT IN THE HORSE'S BODY. 

 Comparative Weight borne by the Fore and Hmd Limbs— Centre of Gravity, 



Comparative Weight borne by the Fore and Hind Limbs.— 



General Morris, of the French Army, appears to have been the first to make 

 experiments as to the [distribution of weight between the fore and hind limbs 

 of the horse. He found that, taking one animal with another, it is as five is 

 to four; and that the fact of the neck being long, as in the thoroughbred, 

 causes more weight »to be thrown on the fore hand, than when that part is 

 short and massive, as in the heavy cart-horse. The proportion which he 

 obtained from an average of eleven horses that had light heads and necks — 

 the latter being presumably long — was as four is to three. Colin puts the 

 average at fully three to two. Goubaux and Barrier have proved by a 

 number of careful trials, that the lower the withers are, as compared to the 

 croup, the greater is the proportion of weight supported by the fore limbs ; 

 and vice versL This is agreeable to what we might have inferred from the 

 manner in which the horse raises his croup to kick, or his withers to rear. 

 As the hind half of the trunk is, in all classes, heavier than the fore half, it 

 follows that the extra weight in front is mainly due to the fact of the head and 

 neck being in advance of the fore legs. The longer the body, and the heavier 

 the belly, the more will this distiibution of weight be equalised. 



Centre of Gravity, — The centre of gravity of a body is an imaginary 

 point in that body, so placed that if the body be supported immediately 

 underneath the centre of gravity, it will be in equilibrium (or rest). Con- 

 sequently, if a body be balanced at a point on its surface, a perpendicular 

 line drawn from that point will pass through the centre of gravity ; and the 

 intersection of two or more such lines will determine the position of the centre 

 of gravity. If the body be of uniform density, the position of the centre of 

 gravity will be the same as that of the centre of the figure; but if it be 

 heavier at one side than at the other, the centre of gravity will be nearer 

 the former than the lattei*. For instance, in ships, with the view of 

 obtaining increased security from an upset, the centie of gravity is placed 

 below the centre of the hull. If, for example, we want to ascertain the 

 position of the centre of gravity of a loaded club, we may take one line 

 through its axis, and another across it, at the point where it balances, when 



