122 HISTORY OF THE 



moderately thin ; but, with respect to this latter 

 point, I am not so very particular, provided the 

 shoulders lay well back. From the withers the back 

 commences. I confess that appearance may be in 

 favor of a horse that has his back a little low or 

 hollow. As a saddle-horse this may be all very- 

 well ; but for a race-horse, to have strength and 

 liberty of stride, his back should be straight and 

 moderately long, with the shoulders and loins 

 running well in at each end. The loins should 

 have great breadth and muscular substance, so 

 much so as for them to have the appearance of 

 being raised as it were on their surface ; and those 

 muscles posterior to the loins should fill up level 

 the top part of the quarters to the setting on of the 

 tail, which latter should be set on pretty high up. 



, I now come to speak of the body, or as 



it is by some people commonly called, the middle 

 piece of the horse, and which is divided internally 

 into two cavities, bv a muscular substance called 

 the diaphragm. The anterior cavity, the chest, 

 contains the stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys, 

 &;c. Now, w^ith respect to the external form of the 

 body, which contains and protects all those numer- 

 ous organs so important to life, I shall first make 

 my observations on the chest. To use a common 

 phrase, and somewhat an expressive one, a horse 

 in this part should be what is called well over the 

 heart, that is to say, he should be deep in his girth, 

 round or well arched in his ribs. I mean by this. 



