STUD BOOK. 71 



illustration of the lever; the elbow-joint is the centre of 

 motion, the shoulder is the weight to be raised, and the 

 leg is the lever, and the muscles form the power by which 

 the limb is raised. Hence, the elbow itself should be deep, 

 as giving increased power of action. 



The knee is next to be considered. It should be very 

 broad in comparison with the arm and the shank, for as this 

 is the fulcrum of the whole machine, the muscles and liga- 

 ments which envelope it should be of the greatest possible 

 strength, and should be thoroughly developed. The broader 

 the knee is, the greater will be the strength of the part. The 

 leg itself is of great importance : it is formed of three bones, 

 giving great strength, from the whole weight of the horse 

 being thrown upon it. The sinews should be firm, promi- 

 nent, and clearly defined. The foot is described in another 

 page. 



Other points of the horse have been so repeatedly no- 

 ticed, when speaking of distinct breeds, that it is unnecessary 

 to recapitulate them here. 



The horse is naturally an herbivorous animal His thin 

 and muscular lips, his firm and compressed mouth, and his 

 sharp, incisor teeth, are admirably adapted to seize and to 

 crop the herbage. In his domesticated state, however, he is 

 destined to li ve partially or chiefly on other aliment, and that 

 of a much harder kind the various species of corn; there- 

 fore, while man and the carnivorous a.Tnnm1a can only champ 

 and crush their food, a provision is given to the horse, in the 

 structure of some of the bones of the head, by means of 

 which he can comminute and grind down his food as per- 

 fectly as in the best-contrived mill 



The teeth of the horse require some lengthened consid- 

 eration, not only from their admirable adaptation to this 

 purpose, but as indicating, by the various changes which 

 they undergo, and almost beyond the possibility of error, 

 the age of the animal He may, when young in years, be 

 reduced nearly to the decrepitude of age by the barbarous 

 usage of those who ought to have been his most zealous pro- 

 tectors; the cavity above the eye may be deepened, the un- 

 der-lip may fall, the limbs may be bowed, and the feet may 

 be battered and distorted but it is not easy to alter the 

 character of the teeth. 



The colt is generally dropped with the first and second 

 molar and grinding-teeth having forced their way through 

 the gum. "When he is about seven or eight days old the 

 two central front or incisor teeth, above and below, appear. 



