THE HOCK. 13 



the bone at the upper inner part prominent. 

 As to whether the leg for a running horse should 

 descend straight from the hock, or incline under 

 the body, neither should be in extreme: there 

 is a medium. The stride is said to be lengthened 

 by its being well bent under, yet, that there are 

 objections, arising from the greater wear of the 

 hock, that greatly counterbalance this. Either 

 for a racer, charger, or hunter, a rather straight 

 drop for an Arab will be best and handsomest. 

 In the high caste Arab, it invariably does descend 

 rather straight, but whether the leg from the 

 hock is bent under or straight, the hock itself 

 must neither turn in nor out ; if the former, he 

 will be cat-hammed, making his legs like an ill- 

 shaped cow's, or, as the ladies say, donkey-legged ; 

 if the latter, which is not so often met with, the 

 toe will turn in, which is worse. For a running 

 horse, it is an advantage if the toe is behind the 

 stifle-joint. 



A BONE SPAVIN in the clean hocks of an Arab, 

 is generally visible enough if situated at the top 

 of the splent-bone, that is, on the inner side of 

 the lowermost part of the hock. If he should be 

 spavined higher up, or the ligaments have been 

 strained, it is not so easily perceived as the 

 former, but in either case both the hocks will 

 not look exactly alike ; and this will be quite 



