THE SKELETON. 4? 



tlie body (produced by faulty formation of the angles 

 but also occurring with hunchbacked horses), then 

 the animal is unsafe as a saddle horse, has not the 

 necessary propelling capability for a harness horse, 

 and will " forge." 



(4) If the fore legs are placed forward and the 

 hind legs backward (produced by bad formation of 

 the angles, but also by considerable swayback), 

 then the animal, whose fore and hind legs seem to 

 act separately, is entirely unfit for saddle use and 

 is only a very poor harness horse. 



THE EXAMINATION OF THE HORSE FROM THE FRONT 

 AND FROM BEHIND. 



Thus far, we have examined the horse from the 

 side. Let us scan it now from the front and from 

 behind. As difficult as it is to express in numbers 

 the proportions of a horse's body, so difficult is it to 

 say how broad a horse should be from shoulder point 

 to shoulder point, and from hip to hip. The limits 

 for greater width lie in the growing weight of the 

 rump, and in the disadvantages for the movements, 

 as we will see later on. The limits of the narrow 

 formation are fixed by the insufficient space for the 

 chest and the vital organs enclosed therein, destined 

 for respiration and circulation, as also by the insuffi- 

 cient width from hip to hip, thereby offering 



