590 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



I'ied Oil bis hind feet. If a plumb line is dropped from the point of 

 at tacbment at tbe elbow, the line should jusl split the knee and pas- 

 tern joint and touch the ground at the heel of the horse's foot. 

 Likewise, if a plumb line is dropped from the buttock, the line should 

 just touch the rear of the hock and pass parallel and just against 

 the rear edge of the cannon. When vicw'ed from the front, a 

 plumb line dropped from the point of the shoulder will pass directly 

 in front of the middle of the knee and foot. Under these conditions 

 the feet will be usually just far enough apart to allow the placing 

 of another foot of equal size between them. When viewed from 

 the rear, a plumb line dropped from the point of the buttock should 

 pass directly in the middle of the hock and pastern joints. The hind 

 feet under these conditions will be usually just far enough apart 

 to allow the width of the hock to be placed between them. Such 

 an attitude means that the fore arm and all the cannons will be di- 

 rectly vertical. A horse should have this conformation without 

 reference to the purpose for which he is to be used. 



In the study of animal proportions, it has been found desirable 

 to adopt some unit of measure. In considering whether a horse 

 has a proper proportion, it is not entirely a question of how many 

 inches high or long, how long the shoulder or neck, or how wide the 

 breast and hips, but it is a question of how the measurements are 

 related to one another. Careful investigation has shown that the 

 length of a horse's head, i. e., a straight line from the lips to the top 

 of the poll, obtained by a compass, not by a tape-line, possesses the 

 elements necessary for a unit of measure. It has been found fur- 

 ther that there are a number of measurements of a normal, well- 

 proportioned horse to which this unit of measure applies. For 

 example, the height of a horse at the withers is two and one-half 

 times the length of his head. If the height of the horse is more than 

 two and one-half times the length of the horse's head, the head will 

 appear small or the horse set up on stilts. If the height is less than 

 two and one-half times the length of the head, then the head ap 

 pears large and ungainly or the horse is unusually close to the 

 ground. 



The ideal distance between the point of the shoulder and the point 

 of the buttock, i. e., the length of the horse's body, is the same dis- 

 tance as the height of the horse at the withers. Except for the 

 head and neck, an ideal horse stands in an exact square. The horse 

 is distinguished in this respect from the ox, which is generally about 

 20 per cent, longer than it is high. This accounts for the fact that 

 an ox can pull more for its weight but does not have the speed of 

 the horse. The length of our draft horses, as well as our trotting 

 horses, generally exceeds their height by one or tw^o inches, while 

 the height of the thoroughbred and saddle-horses sometimes ex- 

 ceeds their length. While it is true that our draft horses, on an 

 average, are slightly longer than their height, our best types ap- 

 proach the square very closely. 



The significance of the length of the horse depends upon the pro- 

 portion of the shoulder, back and croup. If the length is obtained 

 by long, sloping shoulders and a long, horizontal croup, extra length 

 need not alarm us, but if this extra length is to be found between 

 the rear angle of the shoulder blade and the hips, the conformation 

 is not desirable. 



