292 THE FORE LIMB. 



had remarkably sound legs. Such instances are in no 

 way uncommon among the Sons of the Desert ; and as a 

 rule, the possessors of pasterns of this kind are animals 

 which like to " hear their feet rattle." Mr. Covey's famous 

 Arab, Marquis, who won all over India, at all weights 

 and distances (in his own class), showed this pecu- 

 liarity in an admirable manner. After doing as much 

 work as would break down a dozen ordinary horses, his 

 legs were as clean as when he was foaled ; although, even 

 when walking, his fetlocks came nearly down to the 

 ground at each step — so oblique were his pasterns, the 

 bones of which, though long and sloping, were of good 

 substance. My experience among horses in many lands, 

 leads me to the conclusion that the drier the country in 

 which they are bred and reared, the more sloping are their 

 pasterns. I advance no theory in support of this instance 

 of the " survival of the fittest," which I give merely for 

 what it is worth. Australian horses have their pasterns 

 more oblique than English horses (though they are 

 practically of the same blood), and are consequently 

 better fitted for work on hard ground. As the shoulder- 

 blade and pastern are at the opposite ends of the spring 

 made by the bones of the fore limb, we may infer that 

 they should be more or less at the same slope. Hence, 

 if it be desirable that a horse should have oblique 

 shoulders, he should also have well - sloped pasterns, 

 which is a term that had best be accepted as indicat- 

 ing a condition of limb, in which the fetlock and 

 pastern joints have free play. 



Two curses which remain in English thorough-breds 

 are upright pasterns and roaring. The former condition 

 is such a common defect that it generally passes without 

 notice, and is accepted by the ignorant as the proper kind 

 of conformation. Of the two, I certainly think that undue 

 straightness of pastern is the cause of the turf career of 

 more English horses being cut short, than is roaring. 

 Examples of this fatal shape are very common. 



