THE HORSE IX GENERAL. 31 



Feet and Legs. — It is unnecessary for me to say that the 

 feet should receive the most rigorous and careful criticism. The 

 old maxim, " no foot, no horse," is to all intents and purposes 

 more applicable to-day than when it was first expressed. 



The perfect foot is of firm texture, fair size, and, of course, 

 thoroughly sound in all its parts. The general healthiness of 

 it is denoted by the natural waxy appearance of the horny 

 fibers, the well-formed, cup-like sole, and the marks of natural 

 usage of the spongy frog as a bufter. 



Flatness of sole, dessicated or brittle walls, and contracted 

 heels owing to mutilation of the frog, are defections commonly 

 met with, not to say any thing of the abnormal variations that 

 occur in the direction of the axis of the foot, A skillful judge 

 may w^ell spend one-half of his allotted time on the feet of the 

 Lorses undergoing examination, to detect or give tokens of 

 recognition to any defects of the wall, to see that the horn is 

 dense and free from cracks ; the sole, to observe the absence of 

 any disease and the presence of the natural concavity and con- 

 nections ; the heel to see that the feet are medium size and of 

 proper shape, the frog large and wide, and the bars strong 

 and high. ■ 



The Trunk. — Passing onward the ribs claim attention. 

 Round ribs that spring out from the spine may give the horse 

 the appearance of being too long in the legs, but they are 

 nevertheless good in point of giving the greatest amount of 

 space to the vital organs. Close coupling to the hip is strength, 

 and so is a broad loin thick with layers of muscles. Consider- 

 ing the proportions of the body, it is evident that the shorter it 

 is above and the longer it is beneath, the better for the action. 

 This formation gives rise to the approving term that "he stands 

 over a deal of ground," and is associated with sloping shoulders. 

 In such a conformation the legs have free play, and there is no 

 loss of strength. 



