THE BACK 55 



dency to fatten, and a "soft", or, as it is sometimes expressed, a "washy" 

 constitution. Horses of this cast are difficult to "condition", and lack 

 power of endurance. 



In the cart-horse, whose movements are slow and whose value centres 

 in the power he is capable of developing in draught, coarseness of the 

 withers, indicating as it does great muscular development, is a point of 

 excellence rather than a defect; and when, in addition, this region is 

 of good height and length, the mechanical advantage is still further 

 enhanced. 



A glance at fig. 46 will assist in explaining the conditions which 

 determine the coarseness or fineness of the withers. 



From the above it will be seen that in the anatomical composition 

 of this region there are a variety of structures. Centrally placed appear 

 the spines of the vertebrte; outside these, right and left, a quantity of 

 muscular tissue, being parts of several muscles here belonging; then 

 come the scapular cartilages, followed by another layer of muscle, and 

 finally the skin which encloses the whole. It is to these parts, and to 

 the fibrous tissue which binds them together, that the withers owe their 

 thickness or thinness, and in proportion as they are more or less bulky 

 will the one or the other condition prevail. 



THE BACK 



The back is essentially the weight-bearing region, and as such is of 

 the first importance to the utility and beauty of the horse. JMoreover, 

 it is through the spinal column that the body is propelled by tlie hind 

 extremities in its forward movements, and by the muscles which clothe 

 it that the trunk is raised from end to end, and the weight imposed 

 upon it supported in executing the different paces. 



The extent of the back is limited in front by the withers, behind by 

 the loins, while its width is determined l)y the arches of the ribs. 



Length. — It is generally conceded l>y the best judges of horses that 

 the back should be short, but what degree of shortness is desirable is a 

 cjuestion upon which writers at any rate are not in agreement. " In 

 all cases", says Captain Hayes, " the horse's back and loins should have 

 the appearance of Ijeing as short as possible", and most authors who have 

 written on this subject pretend that shortness of the back constitutes 

 its beauty. H. Bouley has very judiciously asserted that this pro- 

 position is too absolute. " A very short back is not desirable except 

 in animals destined to carry heavy weights, as the shaft-horse, the 

 pack-horse, and the saddle-horse." 



