8 ANGLO-FRENCH HORSEMANSHIP 



gallopers ; not being able to bend their hocks easily, 

 they resist being brought back on to them, and either 

 bend their necks backwards or drop their heads and 

 pull. The second thighs or legs should be wide and 

 muscular, and for speed the thigh should be long and 

 moderately oblique, so that the stifle may be low ; the 

 angle formed at the stifle nick by the thigh and leg 

 should have a wide opening measuring 115 to 120 

 degrees, and a vertical line dropped from the point of 

 the buttock should touch the hock and run right down 

 the back sinew to the fetlock. The back tendon 

 should stand out and be clearly defined from the hock 

 to the pastern. In coarse hocks the wing bones project 

 on either side of the tendon and hide it, giving a curby 

 look to the hock, and generall}^ a " tied in " appearance 

 below it. 



To measure these angles an ordinary protractor 

 made of brass with an arm working from the centre 

 of the circle is very useful. 



Have the horse trotted out, stand behind him, and 

 see that he moves true, that he does not dish, and that 

 the feet on each side move in an exact line, and do not 

 pass too close to the opposite fetlock joint. If the 

 marks of the hind feet are in front of those of the fore 

 feet, and a little to the outside of them, the horse will 

 probably be a fast galloper and fine jumper, besides 

 being a good walker. Then ride the horse ; trot him 

 first with a loose rein to see whether he throws his 

 weight freely on to his fore legs, then hold him tight 

 by the head, and, by driving him forwards, test the 

 strength of his hinder parts ; if he resents being 

 collected, suspect his loins or hocks. He will turn his 

 quarters to the side opposite to the weak leg. After- 

 wards jump him, and if he gives you a comfortable ride 



