LESSONS IN HORSE JUDGING. 97 



with the astragalus forms the true hock joint. 

 The length or shaft of the bone is not round, but 

 has three flat sides; one side looking backwards 

 having upon it the bellies of large muscles cor- 

 responding to the calf of our own leg. Another 

 surface looks inwards and forwards, and is cov- 

 ered by skin only, as seen in Fig. 14, just as in 

 ourselves, and in us is called the shin, and can be' 

 felt as a bony •surface from our stifle or knee 

 down to our hock or ankle, where it ends in a 

 very sharp bony point in both cases called the in- 

 ner maleolus. 



You should make an effort to remember this 

 prominent bony point called the inner maleolus, 

 because it forms a prominent land-mark in de- 

 scribing the hock. The remaining side of this 

 bone looks outwards and forwards, and is covered 

 by powerful muscles. Fig. 14, 7, which if you 

 grasp your right leg with your right hand in 

 front, half way betv/een the knee and ankle, and 

 then raise your toes without moving your foot or 

 leg, you will feel to contract. This outer surface 

 then is covered by the bellies of the muscles 

 which lift the toes upwards, and in the horse lifts 

 his foot forward. 



We have, in our remarks, spok^ of an inner 

 maleolus, implying the existence of an outer 

 maleolus. The outer maleolus is formed by the 

 lower end of the ' fibula ' in ourselves, but in the 

 horse the * fibula ' is only rudimentary, and does 

 not reach down to the hock, or ankle, but is 

 merely a spicula of bone having no function or 

 use whatever. 



