104 CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK AND COMPLETE STOCK DOCTOR. 



horse had a sure foundation to stand on ; perhaps so, if he always stood 

 at the manger. Such horses might be tolerably sure-footed, if not hard 

 driven, and carefully managed. They are often seen in the hands of 

 persons who ^ill not pay for accurate information. The good judge of 

 horseflesh lets them severely alone. 



The lower right hand figure is as bad as possible all over, — a weak- 

 legged, knock-kneed, splay-footed brute that is unserviceable, dangerous 

 and costly to the owner. This conformation often goes with what some 

 call style. Horsemen term them "weeds." 



Thus we have carried the reader through a careful study of the front 

 half of the horse. If carefully studied and the information kept fully in 

 mind, the reader may reasonably expect to be able to buy a horse with 

 good fore parts, from an outside view, upon his own judgment. 

 X. The Hinder Parts Illustrated. 



The adage that if the fore-quarters of a horse are strong enough ( o 

 hold him up, the hind-quarters will carry him forward, is true in a sense, 

 since if ahorse is perfect in his fore-quarters, the hind-quarters are pretty 

 sure to be good. Yet the majority of horses if they break down at all 

 do so first in their forward lim]:>s, spavin being one of the principal disa- 

 bilities of the hind limbs. The real facts are that the proportions of 

 the whole animal must be harmonious, each part assisting the others 

 while at the same time it is doing its own appropriate work. This will be 

 more fully understood by referring to what has been said in the chapters 

 on Anatomy, on the muscular conformation. As already stated, the hind 

 quarters are the real propelling power of the animal. The forward motion 

 is given by successive springs or leaps, very clearly shown when the horse 

 is galloping. Then the fore parts act more in the nature of a balance 

 than either . miking or trotting, or in that artificial movement, the 

 amble or pace. In the last named the change of the center of gravity is 

 from side to side in connection with a slight one front and rear. In 

 walking and in trotting the change of the center of gravity is more equally 

 distributed between the sides and forward center. In running, the change 

 of gravity is almost entirely from front to rear. 



XI. The Propelling Power. 

 If it is to do its work effectively, the propelling power must be provi- 

 ded with a large loin, strong, muscular quarters, great lenglh of hip; 

 strong, dense and necessarily fine bones ; strong joints, and flat, wide 

 legs, with sinews steel-like in their strength, and standing out like great 

 cords. It is this great tendinous develoiiment that gives the lower limbs 

 the flat appearance, seen in all horses of great power. The bones them- 

 selves are not flat ; the bones and tendons however combine to form a flat 



