414 FARM HORSES CLYDESDALES 



ears ; the ears a good length, neither hanging, showing 

 sluggishness, nor " prick-eared," but with frequent motion, 

 indicative of a good disposition ; the neck medium in length 

 and massive, slightly arched in the male, and also in the female 

 when she becomes old or is in high condition ; the back 

 straight and broad, and not so long as to make it weak ; the 

 tail not too drooping ; the ribs well sprung, round or barrel- 

 like, the last one being a good length. Shortness in the 

 posterior ribs is not an uncommon defect in Clydesdale 

 horses, making them too light in the belly and leggy to 

 appearance. The hind quarters broad and long, low set, well 

 packed, and rounded and the thighs muscular ; the second- 

 thighs -well developed and broad ; fat girth round 'the heart good : 

 the body is then deep, and the height of the animal greater 

 than it looks ; the chest broad and deep ; the shoulder (scapula} 

 closely knit at the top and oblique, though not necessarily 

 quite so much so as in a hunter ; the humerus should form an 

 obtuse angle with the scapula, else the animal cannot put its leg 

 well forward in moving, or practise the long quick step for which 

 the breed is renowned. 1 The position is indicated in Fig. 23. 

 Thefore legs ought to be straight, not bending back at the knee 

 a defect described as " calf-kneed." This defect, however, 

 minimises the bad results of short pasterns. The legs should 

 also be strong, and not too far back under the body, showing 

 that the humerus is rightly placed ; the knee-joints broad 

 and flat ; the muscle of the forearm long and strong, broad 

 from a side view and well developed ; the shank bone of the 

 fore legs should present a flat side view, and should be thick 

 and slightly rounded in front, tapering to an edge posteriorly, 

 assuming a shape somewhat like a blunt razor, also short and 

 clean (not knotty), but with plenty of substance ; the sinews 

 of the back of the leg thick, strong, and well defined ; the 

 fetlocks large ; the feathering, or long-flowing silken hair of 

 a " pily nature " on the back parts of the legs, neither 

 deficient, too abundant, nor spreading round in front If 

 fine, long, and silky, it is an indication, along with a fine skin, 

 of good breeding. Short, coarse, and matted hair indicates a 



1 Reference should be made to a paper by the late James Howard, 

 M.P., Bedford, in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of 

 England for 1884, who there drew attention to the importance of the 

 position of the humerus in the shoulder of a cart-horse. 



