356 CONDITION AND GOOD LOOKS. 



the muscles which cover the ribs are brought into active 

 play, and they consequently become largely developed by 

 the process that brings the galloper, or fast trotter, into 

 condition. Hence, if there be in a horse a marked difference 

 of level between the surface in front of the line in question, 

 and that in the rear of it (Fig. 277), we may reasonably 

 conclude that he has done a good deal of that kind of work 

 which brings his lungs into rapid action and that his system 

 is not everloaded with fat. The fact of the " water-mark " 

 being clearly indicated is also dependent on the absence of 

 fat about the part. 



The line which marks the termination of the sheet of muscle to which 

 I have alluded, corresponds to the posterior border of the fleshy portion 

 of the panniculus (p. 42), and indicates the commencement of the 

 aponeurotic portion. The " water-mark," or " quarter-mark," to which 

 I have also drawn attention, is the line of separation between the rotator 

 tibialis and the abductor femoris. 



The most time-honoured method of ascertaining whether 

 or not a horse is in condition, is to feel his crest with the 

 hand, so as to find out if it be hard or soft. This plan has 

 its merits ; for the crest is a part on which many horses, 

 especially entires (Fig. 413), have a tendency to deposit 

 fat. It is evident that a thick layer of fat would feel 

 softer to the touch than a mass of ligament, muscle and 

 tendon ; and that the nearer a horse approaches the cart- 

 horse type, the heavier is his neck (Fig. 312). 



The diagonal line on the flank, the appearance of the 

 ribs through a thick layer of muscle, and the lean though 

 muscular condition, of the shoulders of a race-horse in 

 training, are well shown in the photograph of Ormonde 

 (Frontispiece). 



3. Signs of condition afforded by the state of the breathing. 

 — Although a practical trial would give an experienced 

 observer the best possible idea of the state of an animal's 

 organs of breathing ; the question depends so much on 

 individual merits and defects, that it is very difficult to 

 lay down any fixed rules for guidance in making such 



