THE SHOULDER. 



275 



race-horses have been built in this way. It is not, 

 however, sufficient for a horse to have the great gift of 

 speed, in order to shine on the turf ; but he must also 

 be able to '' stand training," which will more or less 

 severely test the durability of the bones, ligaments and 

 tendons of the legs, and especially of his fore ones. Both 

 in training and in racing, the animal has to carry a rider, 

 whose weight will add materially to the " wear " of the 

 fore legs, the jar on which will be far less when the 



Fig. 350. — Diagram to explain Figs. 348 and 349. 



shoulders are oblique, than when they are comparatively 

 upright. 



Important as obliquity of the shoulders is in the race- 

 horse, it is not nearly so much so as lightness of that part ; 

 for heaviness of the fore-hand throws increased strain 

 on the fore legs, and also detracts from speed. We 

 have three simple and practical guides by which we may 

 judge of the lightness or heaviness of the shoulders : (i) 

 by the manner in which the neck runs into the shoulders. 

 If we observe that there exists, at their point of union, a 



18* 



