Judging a Horse 61 



Horses intended for speed should stand high behind. 

 The withers should be firm and moderately thin, the 

 shoulders should be well muscled and preferably slop- 

 ing. In horses intended for draft purposes, moderately 

 sloping shoulders are preferable. The fore -arm should 

 be well muscled, the muscles and tendons of the leg firm 

 and prominent. The bones should be round and fine, 

 the joints of good size and the leg moderately wide 

 from before back. The skin should be fine and should 

 lie close to the bones and sinews of the leg. The chest 

 should be broad, deep and strongly muscled. The ribs 

 should be "well sprung," that is, coming well out at 

 right angles from the back -bone, thus giving the horse 

 a good round barrel, which furnishes room for the lungs 

 and digestive organs. A horse lacking in this capacity 

 is said to be "slab-sided" and "washy," and usually 

 lacks stamina. The horse should not be "tucked up " 

 in the flanks, and the hips should be strongly muscled, 

 because it is here that most of the power is required, 

 either for speed or for draft purposes. The legs should 

 be well placed and the bones well directed, making the 

 proper angles at the various joints. A horse intended 

 for draft purposes should be "built close to the ground." 

 In all horses, the coat should be fine and short, the skin 

 thin and soft to the touch, showing the large veins 

 clearly. In all horses, except Clydesdale and Shires, 

 the legs should be comparatively free from long coarse 

 hair. The mane and tail should be of moderate 

 length and thickness, fine and silky, the tail being 

 especially important, because of the character and style 

 which it gives to the general appearance of the animal. 



