GENERA!. VJI.W Oh 'I III: IRUNK. 227 



has to be regardorl, onrhiranre and wpight-carryinf^ power 

 have I0 1)(* pro])oiiiona1cly sacrificcfl, in which case, the 

 animal is worthless from a useful j)oiii1 of view, esjjeci- 

 ally, as its one j^ood quality can, as a rule, b(; transmitted 

 to its descendants, only in company witli its bad ones. 



In all cases, the body should be as short as possible 

 compar(;d I0 its depth ; or, in otiicr words, as deep as 

 possible, compared to its ](;ngth. Tlie longcT it is, the 

 farther removed will tlu; fore and hind limits be from 

 each other, and the less afjle will tin; animal be to carry 

 weight. On j>. 67 we fiave seen that a short f)ody is a 

 desiraf)le y)oint in the race-horse ;ind jumper. Also in 

 draught, any undue lenglli (^1 body is a disadvantage; for 

 the farther the fore and hind legs are apart, the less rigid 

 will b(; the connection between them, and the less effi- 

 ciently will they work together. When sjK'akirjg ol ihe 

 depth of a horse's body, I refer to its dejAh at the ]ow(;st 

 point of its back fFig. 15). If an animal shows a good 

 measurement at this part, fu; is almost certain io jjossess 

 fair substance of body. The measurement from the 

 withers to the brisket is very fallacious ; for it is affected 

 by the actual height of the withers, and it affords 

 hardly any indirntir)n oi tlie nature of the " centre-piece " 

 of the bofly. Many horses which are very short in thfir 

 back ribs have good dejjth from withers \(> brisket, 

 as in Figs. 318 and 326. 



I'jidurance (p. 8; chiefly depends on the amount of 

 energy which can be sujjplied to th(; animal machine. 

 Hence, the conformation of the structures which enclose 

 th(; lungs and abdominal organs ^stomach, liver, intestines, 

 etc.;, should be as favourable as jxjssible for promoting 

 their working capacity, wliich suljject will be discussed 

 on pages 232 to 236. 



Chest and Ribs. Although the heart, as well as the 

 lungs, is contained in the c li(;st, I shall not consider it 

 here ; for I can offer no clue as to its action from a 



