478 



THE MODERN SYSTEM 



arm,) instead of descending in a straigiit line, 

 is directed backwards, so that tiie knee ap- 

 pears to recede from it, the Horse is said to 

 be calf-kneed, a term that well conveys the 

 idea we have of this formation. It is always 

 objectionable for the saddle, though it may do 

 for the collar. The leg should fall in exactly 

 perpendicular from the carcass, and be short 

 when compared with the arm (the converse 

 of this being indicative of weakness,) and of 

 sufficient breadth to enable a purchaser, even 

 at a distance, ^distinguish the tendons and 

 bone, with perfect clearness, in their relative 

 situations ; for, if he cannot do this, there is 

 reason for suspecting that he is, what is called 

 gummy, the effect of hard work, or of prema- 

 ture labour ; and never a natural defect. 

 Should the legs be round and straight below, 

 they are called stilty, and are never firm and 

 good ; but the best, and only correct way to 

 judge of legs is to pass the hand down them ; 

 if they measure much round, and the sinews 

 feel firm, hard, and distinct, like well-braced 

 cords ; and if the intervening spaces between 

 bone and sinew be clean — free from gum — 

 we may pronounce that they are good. 



The fetlock, as a joint, shouM be of large 

 dimensions, proportionate with other parts ; 

 no joint, in fact, is too large, providing its 

 bony prominences be seen with the naked eye, 

 and its ligaments perceptible under our fingers. 

 Knuckling over in the fetlocks is a sign of 

 original mal -formation, such as uprightness in 

 the pasterns, or else is the residt of hard 

 work ; and the tottering affection of the limb, 

 accompanying this state, is caused by local 

 debility and excessive irritability in the nerv- 

 ous system. The pasterns always deserve the 

 attention of the buyer; when good, their 

 length is proportionate with that of other 



parts, and they incline with much obliquity, 

 downwards and forwards to the foot. Horses 

 with very oblique pasterns, are likely to break 

 down; and, for this reason, they never ought 

 to be shod with thin-heeled shoes. On the 

 other hand, if they are very short and upright 

 in these joints, they are seldom or ever sure- 

 footed, and will soon become stilty or groggy 

 from work. 



The hoof next engages our attention, and 

 this is a part of which we should be more 

 than commonly scrupulous and nice in our 

 inspection. " No foot, no Horse," is a trite, 

 but very true adage. First, we should look 

 to the size of the hoof; a small foot is not 

 only objectionable in itself, even though it be 

 a natural formation, but is often a charac- 

 teristic of disease. A small and upright hoof 

 is, however, a morbid structure. White hoofs 

 are to be eyed with suspicion, for they are 

 really weaker, and more liable to disease than 

 black ones ; and if a Horse has one white, and 

 the other dark coloured, and he is lame, in 

 nine cases out of ten, it is the white hoof that 

 is affected. Other considerations now engross 

 our attention. Is it contracted ? i. e., is its 

 circular form destroyed by narrowness at the 

 heels ? A good hoof is circular in the tread, 

 or nearly so, measuring as much from side 

 to side, as from toe to heel ; but we fre- 

 quently find those that are morbid measuring 

 as much from toe to heel as twice the lateral 

 diameter. On the other hand, the wall of 

 the hoof, which should, at all times, be per- 

 fectly smooth and free from ridges (the con- 

 trary indicating disease,) may be very oblique, 

 in which case, it is not only circular, but 

 spreads out, even to a morbid degree, in the 

 tread. Large Horses, bred in low marshy 

 situations, are most subject to this kind of 



