THE POINTS OF THE HORSE, ETC. 21 



buttock, lying deeply in the muscles, is the "hip-joint." The hip-bone 

 runs from the hip-joint to the " stifle," which is the large joint found 

 behind the lower pnrt of the flank ; from here the " thigh " runs 

 backwards and downwards to the " hock-joint," and the prominent bunch 

 of muscles found over the outside of the lower part of the thigh is often 

 called the "gaskin" or " second thigh." The " hamstring" is the thick 

 strong tendon running from the muscles at the back of the thigh to the 

 " point of the hock." 13elow the hock the same terms are used as in the 

 foreleg. The "chestnut" in the hind leg is situated on the inner and 

 lower part of the hock. 



The Points in Detail. 



The Head ^ovX^ not be large in proportion to the animal's size ; big The head, 

 heads are heavy, and although nature provides a strong support in the 

 neck, still every pound tells when the horse is tired. There should be 

 a general appearance of leanness, with width between the eyes, depth 

 through the jaw and fineness about the muzzle ; the lips closed firmly 

 over the teeth, the nostrils fine at the edges and standing well open, the 

 ears on the alert and carried forward (" pricked "). Breed has a great 

 effect on the head, a high-caste Arab offering perhaps the best type ; but 

 well-bred horses, whether race-horses or cart-horses, generally have good 

 heads of their class. 



When the line of the face, viewed from the side, is convex and 

 increasingly so towards the nostrils, it is termed " Roman nosed " ; the 

 reverse, viz., a concave line from the forehead to the nose, being called 

 "stag-faced" or "dished." An abnormally large and long head is some- 

 times spoken of as " like a coffin," and when viewed from the front the 

 resemblance is not far-fetched. 



The ears should, as a rule, be carried upright and forward (" pricked "), The ears, 

 though they will naturally move very frequently as the attention is 

 attracted to sounds from various directions. "Lop ears," which flop 

 down sideways, usually denote a want of energy and are very ugly, but 

 they may occasionally be seen in well-bred horses. Bad-tempered horses 

 frequently carry their ears flat back against the side of the neck when 

 they are approached or about to kick. 



The eye should be set well out at the side of the head so as to The eye. 

 command a wide range of vision, and the eye-ball should be neither too 

 prominent nor too deeply placed in the socket. Bad-tempered horses 

 frequently show the white of the eye in looking backwards. 



