MODERN FARRIER, 11 



The hodij should" be round and capacious ; the 

 back descending in a concave line nearly to the 

 middle ; and the loins broad and fall, with the tail 

 issuing boldly from the croup in an arch-like form. 

 The body should appear short, and the quarters 

 large and strong. The hips should be rather low, 

 and the hocks only at such a distance as to place 

 the shank-bone in an upright position. 



The foot, though frequently unsound and un- 

 healthy, is one of the most important parts of the 

 whole animal machine. The hoof of a colt is nearly 

 circular, and is widest at the quarters. The exter- 

 nal parts are divided into the wall or crust, the sole, 

 and the frog. But an injudicious mode of shoeing, 

 the roughness of the roads, and confinement in ihe 

 stable, usually reduce tliis useful member to an un- 

 healthy and deranged state. 



The skeleton of a horse is usually divided into the 

 head, the spuie, the trunk, and extremities. Ex- 

 cepting the head and fore-part of the neck, the ske- 

 leton forms nearly a square, and approaches more 

 nearly to this form as t^e body of the animal is 

 more nearly prop<)rtional. This remark may be 

 useful to painters and sculptors, who commonly err 

 considerably with respect to the proportion of length 

 and breadth in their figure of a horse. 



4. Of the Teeth. 



A male horse has forty teeth when he has com- 

 pleted his full number: the mare has usually but 

 thirty-six. They are divided into three kinds ; the 

 nippers, tushes, and grinders. A knowledge of the 

 teeth, and the changes which they undergo, is of 

 great consequence in ascertaining the age of the 

 horse. 



The teeth of a horse consist of twenty-four jaw^- 

 teeth or grinders, four canine teeth or tusks, and 

 twelve fore-teeth. Mares have either no tushes, or 



