THE SKELETON. 31 



THE ANGULAR COMBINATION OF THE BONES. 



Thus far, we Lave considered those qualities of the 

 skeleton of the horse, bearing relation to the exten- 

 sion and safety of its movements. Now let us discuss 

 those qualities necessary for the preservation of the 

 limbs. 



The limbs are exposed to the most violent shocks. 

 Not only the weight of the horse's own body, but also 

 that of the rider, falls on them at every step, and 

 with an increased force in sharp gaits and in jump- 

 ing. The starting point of these shocks is the 

 ground. From there the rebound meets first the 

 hoof, and passes upward, diminishing in force, over 

 the whole column. The bones, joints, and sinews 

 nearest the ground suffer most, as is proved by the 

 overwhelming number of lamenesses occuring on the 

 lower leg. Furthermore, the rebound is the more 

 destructive, as our hard roads make shoeing an im- 

 perative necessity, thereby diminishing the expansive 

 power of the hoof. The force of these jerks and 

 shocks is broken by the angles under which the 

 different bones are jointed together. The majority 

 of the joints transmit the rebound only partly to the 

 higher bones. The ligaments and sinews transmit 

 a large portion of the shock to farther removed 

 points of the column. On the upper part of the 



