RELATIONS BETWEEN HEIGHT AND LENGTH OF BODY. 173 



The fact of foals (Fig. 276) being extremely " long 

 on the leg " accounts for their great speed as compared 

 to their strength. Without this peculiarity of conforma- 

 tion, there is no doubt that the horse, prior to the time 

 at which he became domesticated, would not have 

 survived in the struggle for existence. 



Comparative Height at Withers and Croup. — 



" Comparative length of fore and hind limbs " would be a 



Photo byl 



Fig. 275.— Mr. H. T. Barchiy's Lord Arthur. 



[M. H. H. 



more correct heading for this paragraph than the present 

 one, which has been adopted solely for the sake of conveni- 

 ence. It goes almost without saying that it is much easier 

 to compare the respective heights of a horse at the withers 

 and croup, when he is standing in the ordinary position 

 in which we get him placed for inspection, than to judge 

 of the comparative lengths of his fore and hind legs. 



