The resting position chosen in 1909 for the mounting of the giant 

 Draught Horse is one of inaction and is designed to show the relaxa- 

 tion of tiic Ixxly and ihc iiicchanical interlocking of the knee-cap in 

 th(> left hind liiiil) to release the muscles from the strain of the weight. 

 I'liis peculiar function of the patella (knee-cap) is shown in the left 

 knee-joint, or stifle. \Miile th(> joint is extended to sujjport the ani- 

 mal's weight, \hc i)atella rests on the i)rojecting process of the femur 

 so tliat the knee is locked in the extended position by a very strong 

 ligament which holds the patella a hxcd distance from the tibia below, 

 thus sustaining the weight recjuired of it with comparatively little 

 muscular exertion. Thus almost the entire weight of the hind quar- 

 ters is sup])or(ed on the extended left leg, wliile the light hind leg rests 

 in a more hexed position and hangs i)erfectly lax. The pelvis also 

 seems to hang, as it were, from the left hi]:) joint, tilting very much to 

 the right and twisting slightly the vertebral column. 



SHETLAND IN GRAZING POSITION 



This Shetland is a fully grown animal although the height at the 

 shoulders is only S'.iK inches. At the time tlie animal was jRU'chased, in 

 June, 1902, in Scotland, through the kindness of Professor J. Cossar 

 Ewart of the University of Edinburgh, it was regarded as the most diminu- 

 tive Shetland pony which had been lired in (ireat Britain. Somewhat 

 smaller Shetlands have since been i)i'oduced by selection and in-breeding. 



The modern Shetland pony has been produced by careful selection 

 and breeding of a race of domestic or half wild horses originally dwarfed 

 l)y unfavorable surroundings, inhal)iting the l)leak and barren Shet- 

 land Islands, with their cold, damp climate and restricted range. The 

 P(M-cheron, on the other hand, bred to the plow and cart in the rich and 

 fertile lands of Normandy, has been improved by favorable conditions 

 and by selection for size and stn^ngth. and is the largest of the domestic 

 breeds of horses; the Shetland being the smallest. 



LI' J 



