THE CANON 



must be considered in relation to the services they have to perform. 

 From this view-point it will be obvious that such a condition will be 

 serious in proportion as tlie body is large and the weight to be borne is 

 excessive. 



A massive frame supported by small canons would impose undue strain 



on tendons and ligaments 



alike, and impart ruinous 



concussion to the joints. 

 Congenital deficiency of 



development is sometimes i „.^i< 



observed in the flexor ten- 

 dons and parts inunedi- 



ately below the knee (fig. 



58), which, instead of 



being well set buck from 



the bone, are here con- 

 stricted and narrow. This 



"tvinc-in", as it is termed, 



of the tendons is a grave 



fault of conformation not 



only in itself, but also 



because it is invariably 



associated with a small 



knee. Cajrtain Hayes is of 



opinion that this defect is 



" in almost all cases due 



to an admixture of more or 



less cart blood". Whether 



this be so or not we are 

 not prepared to say, but we agree with him in the statement that animals 

 so constructed are "unfit for fast work or for jumping". 



Width from side to side, always greater in the fore- than in the hind- 

 limb, is no less important than that from front to back. As this 

 dimension is entirely made up of the bones, it affords a clear index not 

 only of the strength of the bones themselves, l)ut also of the width 

 and the general scope of the knee- and fetlock-joint which they concur in 

 forming. 



Moreover, the greater the transverse diameter of the canon the larger 

 and strono-er will be the tendons and ligaments in relation to it. 



Narrowness in this region is a mark of weakness, and mostly accom- 

 panies a slight development of the entire limb. 



Fi^. r)7. — fii'itd Fore-arm 

 and Canon 



Fig. 5S.— Weak Fore-arm 

 and Canon 



