732 APPENDIX M 



APPENDIX M 



(Refer to page 403.) 



POINTS OF THE THOROUGHBRED HORSE 



From page 20 of Types and Breeds of Farm Animals, by Chas. S. 

 Plumb ; published by Ginn & Co., New York and London, 1906. 



The conformation of the Thoroughbred is distinctive. 

 The head should be fine and lean and moderately small, 

 showing breeding ; eyes prominent and intelligent ; ears of 

 medium size, not too wide apart, and carried in a lively 

 manner. The neck should be long, the upper part from 

 withers to poll being about twice as long as the lower part 

 from point of shoulder to larynx, and strongly muscular. 

 The shoulder should slope obliquely back, be covered with 

 muscle, and come back to form high, fairly close, long withers ; 

 no collar heaviness should be noticeable. The chest tends to 

 narrow rather than broad confirmation, with good depth, yet 

 able authorities prefer a broad rather than deep and narrow 

 chest. The body should be rather circular in type, with a 

 depth at the withers rather less than half the height, with a 

 length equal to the height at withers and croup ; the back and 

 loins should be comparatively broad, level, and muscular ; the 

 ribs well sprung and of enough depth to show good feeding 

 capacity. The croup tends to be long, rather level, curving 

 gracefully, with the tail attached medium high and carried 

 gracefully. The hind quarter is one of the features of the 

 Thoroughbred, being long, strongly muscled, exhibiting great 

 driving power ; the gaskins or lower thighs should be broad. 

 The fore leg should be muscular and strong in arm and long and 

 wide in fore arm, with comparatively little width between the 

 legs. A rather broad, strong knee, supported by a short, flat 

 cannon bone extending well back, is desirable. The hind leg 

 at the hocks ought to be deep, clean, free from fleshiness, and 

 be supported by a short, flat, clean cannon bone. The 

 pastern joints should be smooth, placed true, and in harmony 

 with the leg as a whole. The pasterns should not be straight 

 but rather long and slanting, yet strong, clean, and springy, 



