10 THE HORSE. 
be avoided with the calf-knee. Flat, ana at the same time large, cannon. 
bones, without gumminess, are of great importance, and if attended with 
a full-sized suspensory ligament, and with strong, clean, and free back 
sinews, the leg is to be considered faultless. The fetlock-joint should be 
of good size and clean, whilst the pasterns should form an angle with the 
ground, of between forty-five and sixty degrees. Lastly, the foot should 
be well formed ; but the construction of this part being hereafter more 
fully described, I shall omit its consideration here. 
In tHe Mrippiepiece the withers come first under notice. It is usual 
to desire them high and thin, but they are very commonly too much 
developed, and if the bony processes stand up like the edge of a razor, 
without muscle on them, they are to be regarded as objectionable rather 
than otherwise. The inexperienced horseman is apt to consider the exis- 
tence of high withers as a sure sign that the saddle will be carried well 
back, but there are some horses whose withers are the greatest annoyance 
to the rider, for having upright and short shoulder-blades, together with 
high withers, the saddle rides forward upon the latter, and chafes them in 
spite of all the padding which can be introduced. In looking at this 
point, I believe the purchaser should almost entirely disregard it, except- 
ing to take care that it is not too high for the formation and position of 
the shoulder-blades. If these are long, and therefore slanting, and espe- 
cially if in addition to a proper position of the bones they are furnished 
with plenty of muscle, the withers may be disregarded, and the action may 
be expected to be good even if they are so low as to show no rise between 
the neck and the back. 
The volume of the chest is the measure not only of the capacity of the 
lungs, but of that of the large organs of digestion. Hence, unless there is 
a middlepiece of proper size, the wind is seldom good, and the stamina of 
the individual will scarcely ever be sufficient to bear hard work. But 
there is a limit to the development of this part in those breeds which are 
required to move with much velocity, where weight is a great object ; and 
if the body of the racehorse or hunter was as heavy as that of the dray- 
horse, the speed would be greatly reduced, and the legs would give way 
during the first severe gallop. So also, a wide chest interferes with the 
free and rapid action of the shoulders and arms as they glide on the ribs ; 
and an open, bosom is almost always fatal to high speed. In the racehorse 
and hunter, therefore, capacity of chest must be obtained by depth rather 
than width; while in the cart-horse, a wide chest and a frame roomy in 
all directions is desired, so as to give good wind, and, at the same time, 
enable the animal to keep up his flesh while working eight or nine hours 
per day. For light, quick draught, a formation intermediate between the 
two is the proper one; the large frame of the cart-horse being too heavy 
for the legs to bear at a fast pace, and leading to their rapid destruction 
in trotting over our modern hard roads. The capacity of the lungs is 
marked by the size of the chest at the girth ; -but the stamina will depend 
upon the depth of the back ribs, which should be especially attended to. 
A SHORT BACK, with plenty of ground covered nevertheless, is the desi- 
deratum of every practised horseman. Unless the measurement from the 
shoulder point to the back of the quarters is somewhat greater than the 
height at the withers, the action is confined, especially in the gallop, for 
the hind legs cannot be brought sufficiently forward on account of the 
interference of the fore-quarter ; and, indeed, from the want of play in 
the back, they are generally too much crippled in that respect. A horse 
‘short above and long below” is the perfection of shape in this particular, 
