SHAPE. 19 



at one end to the fore leg and at tlie other end to 

 the shoulder-bone, it follows necessarily that the 

 more n^Dright the humerus is the further forward 

 the fore leg must be, and the nearer horizontal the 

 humerus is the further back from the breast the fore 

 leg must be. 



Now, if you run your eye in a line from the 

 middle of the fore leg upwards and notice how much 

 in front of the withers that line falls, and then 

 notice how far behind the top of the humei^us that 

 line falls, you will have a fair idea of what the horse's 

 shoulders are. The more that line falls in front of the 

 top of the scapula and the less it falls behind the top 

 of the humerus, the better will be the horse's action. 



In examining a horse here you should feel where 

 the top and bottom of the shoulder and the top and 

 bottom of the humerus are ; otherwise, and especially 

 with flat, fleshy horses, your eye may be deceived 

 and fall in the wrong place. 



There is one very common error — at least, I 

 submit that it is an error — made in estimating the 

 merit of a horse's fore legs. Their strength, that is, 

 the horses' strength, is generally estimated by the 

 size of their fore leg below the knee ; but this is not 

 of itself at all an unerring guide. In each individual 

 animal we shall find that the different parts are 

 constructed in a manner fitted to fulfil what is 

 required of them in the case of that animal taken 

 by itself. 



c 2 



