28 ANIMAL MANAGEMENT. 



supports more than half the weight of both horse and rider, it should be 

 a prime factor in the selection of saddle horses, and lightness combined 

 with strength in the forehand is of the first importance for riding. The 

 head should be light and well set on, the neck of sufficient length, slightly 

 arched along the crest from poll to withers, light in appearance, but 

 muscular and strong. The shoulders should be deep, well placed, and 

 the blades set at a sufficient slope. Here, again, the appearance of 

 lightness combined with actual muscular development should be looked 

 for ; heavy, lumpy shoulders, especially when upright and placed forward, 

 are the worst type for the saddle. The legs from the arm down should 

 drop straight and true to the foot, the toes being turned neither in nor 

 out, and with plenty of bone below the knee. This last is important, as the 

 strain on the tendons is, in any case, great ; and if they are " tied,'' z>., 

 thrown out of the straight line, and given insufficient room at the knee, 

 the tension on them at a fast pace is so much increased that they are 

 more likely to be sprained, and this extra risk rightly causes great 

 attention to be paid to this part. If the toes are turned out from the 

 fetlock, " brushing " is likely to occur, and the liability is greatest when 

 the horse is fatigued. The fetlock of a horse which turns his toe out 

 is bent inwards as well as backwards when the weight is passing over the 

 leg, and is thus brought nearer the other leg, the foot of which strikes it 

 in passing. 



TA^ quarters should be muscular and full of flesh, but their shape may 

 vary considerably. " Straight'^ quarters^ which run nearly level from 

 the croup to the dock are seen chiefly in thoroughbreds, but a " di'ooping 

 quarter ^^ which slants downwards from croup to dock is also seen in 

 many well-bred horses. When the slant is very pronounced it is termed 

 a ^^ goose rumpP ^^ Rouftd'' quarters are seen in cobs, ponies, and many 

 Arabs. When the points of the hips are wide apart, so that they are very 

 prominent when looked at from behind, they are often termed " ragged 

 hips.^^ The actual shape is not a matter of so much consequence for 

 general work, provided the parts are sufficiently large, strong, and full of 

 muscle. 



The thighs from the stifle to the hock should be long and well-clothed 

 with muscle. The prominent bunch of muscles at the lower and outer 

 part of the thigh is termed the ^'' gaski?i'^ or ^'' second thigh^^ and should 

 be well developed. The strong tendon running from the muscles at the 

 back to the point of the hock is the ^'' hanistringJ' 



The hock should be a large joint with a prominent point. From the 

 point, the tendons of the hind limb should drop straight to the fetlock, 

 and if there is any bulging over the seat of curb, about five or six inches 



