If I might now be allowed to give my opinion of this propriety of
length, I should say it consisted in the depth and declivity of
the shoulders, and in the length of the quarters and thighs, and
the insertion of the muscles thereof. The effect of the different
position or attitude of the shoulders in all Horses, is very
demonstrable: if we consider the motion of a shoulder, we shall
find it limited to a certain degree by the ligamentous and the
tendinous parts, which confine it to its proper sphere of acting;
so that if the shoulder stand upright, the Horse will not be able
to put his toes far before him, but will acquire only such a
particular degree of space at each step or movement; but if the
shoulders have a declivity in them, he cannot only put his toes
farther before him, but a greater purchase of ground will be
obtained at every stroke.
The certainty of this effect in the declivity of the shoulders
will be known by every man's observation; and it is also easily
demonstrated by the principles of mechanics, by which we learn,
that if a weight is applied to a pulley, in order to shut a door,
and that weight be allowed to fall immediately and perpendicularly
from the door, it will not pull it too with that velocity as it
will do if an angle be acquired, and the weight pass over a wheel
removed to a very little distance from the door.
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