CHAPTEE II. 



SHAPE. 



Now first as regards the shape of a horse. This 

 must be judged of bj looking at him from several 

 j)oints of view ; and in order to judge of his general 

 outline you ought to be far enough from him to take 

 in the whole of him at once, without jour ejes rest- 

 ing on one part of him more than another. For this 

 reason it is not a good plan to look at a horse in a 

 stable to get an idea of his shape, for jon are too 

 near him to see the proportion between one part and 

 another. 



When the horse is brought out most people, I 

 believe, stand much too near him to be able to judge 

 correctly, and are often in consequence disappointed 

 in their purchase when they have got him home. 



For instance, if a man examines a horse in a 

 stable only, he may satisfy himself that the horse 

 has a good neck and shoulders, and also good hind 

 quarters, and yet the horse's fore quarters may be 

 totally out of proportion to his hind quarters, and he 



