126 HISTORY OF THE 



pearing too distinctly divided, as it were, from the 

 leg ; the fetlock -joint should also be large, and the 

 pastern proportionally strong, but its length and 

 obliquity should be in the medium. The wall or 

 crust of the feet should also be moderately oblique, 

 with the heels open, and frogs sound ; this indeed, 

 is generally the state of racing-colts on first leav- 

 ing their paddocks, if their feet have been paid 

 proper attention to during the time they have 

 remained there. Yet the feet of such of them as 

 have been some time in work, will occasionally 

 get out of order ; they grow upright and strong ; 

 the horngfets hard and brittle, and the heels more 

 or less contracted ; almost all of which defects are 

 too often occasioned from the want of proper at- 

 tention being paid to them at the time of shoeing, 

 and the want of proper applications being 

 applied to them in the stables. Previous to con- 

 cluding my remarks on the fore extremities, it 

 may not be amiss to observe to the reader, that 

 supposing him to stand opposite to those 

 parts of the horse, if the animal is formed in 

 them as I have already described, the centre of 

 the top part of the fore-arm, to be well placed, 

 ought to be nearly or quite in a parallel line with 

 the top or fore-part of the horse's withers ; and 

 again, from the top part of the fore-arm, down to 

 the foot, for the horse to stand firm and well, and 

 have the power of using his fore-legs well, he should 



