HORSE— CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



IX 



tion to the upper line of the back, which 

 should bend down a little behind the 

 withers, and then swell out very gently 

 to the junction with the loins, which can 

 hardly be too wide and muscular. The 

 inexperienced eye will often be deceived 

 by the hips, for if these are narrow the 

 muscles rise above them, and make the 

 loin and back look stronger than they 

 really are, the contrary being the case 

 where the hips are wide and ragged. 

 This latter formation; though not so ele- 

 gant as the level hip, is prized by the 

 man who wishes to be carried well to 

 hounds, and he will jump at a horse 

 which would be passed over with con- 

 tempt by the tyro as " a great raw-boned 

 brute." A slightly arched loin is essen- 

 tial to the power of carrying weight ; a 

 much arched, or " hog " back, is almost 

 sure to give uneasy action from its want 

 of elasticity. 



In examining the Hindquarter, so 

 much depends upon the breed, and the 

 purposes to which the animal is to be 

 put, that only a few general remarks can 

 be given. Thus, for high speed, there 

 should be plenty of length in the two 

 bones which unite at the stifle-joint, with- 

 out which the stride must be more or less 

 limited in extent. The exact position of 

 the hip-joint not being easily detected, 

 the tyro has some difficulty in estimating 

 the length from it to the stifle-joint, but 

 he can readily measure the length from 

 the root of the tail, either with his eye or 

 with a tape, if he cannot depend upon 

 his organ of sight. In a flat outline this 

 will come to twenty-four inches in a horse 

 of fifteen hands three inches, but meas- 

 ured round the surface it will be two 

 inches more. Again, the lower thigh or 

 gaskin should be of about the same 

 length ; but if measured from the stifle to 

 the point of the hock it will be fully 

 twenty-eight inches in a well-made horse 

 of high breeding. These measurements, 

 however, will be much greater in proportion 

 than those of the cart-horse, who requires 

 strength before all things, and whose 

 stride is of no consequence whatever. In 

 him the length of the upper or true thigh 

 is generally as great as that of the thor- 

 oughbred, but the lower thigh is much 

 shorter, and the horse stands with a 

 much straighter hind leg, and conse- 

 quently with his hocks having a very 



slight angle. Muscular quarters and gas- 

 kins are desirable in all breeds ; for with- 

 out strong propellers, no kind of work to 

 which the horse is put can be duly per- 

 formed. The judge of a horse generally 

 likes to look at the quarters behind, so 

 as to get a full view of their volume, and 

 unless they come close together, and leave 

 no hollow below in the anus, he suspects 

 that there is a want of constitution, and 

 rejects the animal on that account. But 

 not only are muscles of full size required, 

 but there must be strong joints to bear 

 the strain which these exert, and one of 

 the most important of all the points of 

 the horse is the hock. This should be 

 of good size, but clean and flat, without 

 any gumminess or thoroughpins, and with 

 a good clean point standing clear of the 

 rest of the joint ; the " curby place " and 

 the situation of spavin should be free 

 from enlargement; but to detect these 

 diseases a considerable amount of prac- 

 tice is required. Lastly, the hocks should 

 be well let down, which depends upon 

 the length of the thigh, and ensures a 

 short cannon bone. The pasterns and 

 feet should be formed in correspondence 

 with those of the fore extremity, to which 

 we have already alluded. 



Such are the recognized points to be 

 desired in the horse ; but in spite of the 

 general opinion of good judges being in 

 favor of them, as we have described, no 

 one can predicate with certainty that a 

 horse possessing them all in perfection, 

 will have a corresponding degree of ac- 

 tion out of doors. No one who has 

 bought many horses will be content with 

 an inspection in the stable, even if the 

 light is as good as that of the open air, 

 for he well knows that there is often a 

 vast difference between the estimate of 

 the value of a horse which he forms in- 

 doors and out. Much of this depends 

 upon the temper of the individual, for if 

 he is dull and heavy, he will not " make a 

 good show," though still he may be capa- 

 ble of being sufficiently excited at times, 

 and many such horses are invaluable 

 racers. Independently, however-y of this 

 element, it will be sometimes found that 

 the frame which looks nearly perfectly 

 symmetrical while at rest, becomes awk- 

 ward and comparatively unsightly while 

 in motion ; and the horse which is ex- 

 pected to move well will often be sent. 



