THE LEGS AND FEET. 105 



Town" offers a striking illustration of this point). Any great 

 obliqueness of this part results in diminishing the power of 

 propulsion. 



The dock (the solid part of the tail) of a well bred horse 

 should be short, set fairly high on the croup and carried 

 gayly and well away from the body. 



The anus should be prominent, small and firm ; the 

 reverse indicates a weak constitution. 



THE LEGS AND FEET THE FORE LEGS. 



The fore legs should be straight, flat on the sides and 

 hard. They should be set moderately far apart, and as the 

 weight of the body is best supported when the fore feet are 

 a little under it, the legs should fall back of a line dropped 

 from the shoulder. 



Viewed from the front the feet should turn neither in nor 

 out. In case the feet are not perfectly straight it is prefer- 

 able to have them turn out. 



The elbows should stand out far enough from the body 

 to insure perfect freedom to these joints. - 



The bones of the forearms and lower parts of the legs 

 should be large, and the muscles well developed. Viewed 

 from the side, the line of the front of the legs should be 

 straight; any forward bend is termed " over in the knees," 

 and any backward inclination is called " calf-kneed." 



The tendons at the back of the lower part of the leg 

 should be nearly parallel to the canon bones ; if they tend 

 to converge with the bones at the knees, "tied in at the 

 knees," the animal is predisposed to weakness in these 

 parts. The tendons should be well developed and tense. 



The knees should be broad in front and clearly defined. 



