Attitude and Motion of the Legs 



21 



extensions and general perfect articulations of the fore and hind parts 

 of the horse; 



Theoretical as it may seem, such attitudes are by no means rare 

 and the pictures of Sweet Marie 2 :02 and of Sonoma Girl 2.05^4 (Figs. 

 66 and 78), two shining lights of California, illustrate this point to a 

 remarkable degree. The firmness and readiness of such a position of 

 legs must impress every horseman. 



It must be left to the eye, more or less, if the motion of the legs, 

 forward and backward, be equal, or if, in other words, they swing pen- 

 dulum fashion or with equal extension. The rule of "pointing" as ap- 



plied to motion will always hold true. For the fore legs and hind legs 

 there are in each case two faulty positions as given in Figs. 17 and 18. 

 Positions A, A stand for the normal and B, B for pointing in and 

 C, C for pointing out. What the swing of each leg will be when in 

 motion can be readily observed and is indicated in Fig. 15 ; and what 

 can be done to overcome the faulty tendencies, if a remedy be possible, 

 will be shown later. 



There is no doubt but that such faulty tendencies either in fore 

 or in hind legs may occur in subjects of great speed, for the efficiency 

 and energy of the horse, both in conformation and in motion, is largely 

 the result of proper compensations ; that is, one deficiency is often 

 counterbalanced or entirely removed by a greater development else- 



