lo CONFORMATION OF THE HORSE. 



power essential for progression and for drawing 

 heavy loads. In old horses, the quarters lose 

 their fulness, and the outline of the muscles begins 

 to make its appearance. Some horses are far too 

 narrow across the haunches, whereas others are 

 wanting in depth ; if the latter, the animal is 

 generally of slow action. Wasting of the muscles 

 of the quarters sometimes follows upon disease, so 

 that it is advisable to compare the right and left 

 quarters, for any appreciable difference in size. A 

 practice that exists amongst dealers of cart horses 

 is that of plaiting the tail before the animal is ex- 

 posed for sale. This apparently gives increased 

 width to the quarters. In brood mares the 

 quarters should be broad, which implies a wide 

 pelvis. 



The Barrel. 



This term is applied to that portion of the body 

 which lies between the shoulders and the haunches. 

 For saddle purposes a flat-sided horse is more 

 comfortable than one in which the barrel is round. 

 In harness and cart horses this region should 

 be round, implying that the ribs are well sprung 

 and that the abdomen is deep in the region of 

 the flank. A flat-sided, short-ribbed horse, pen- 



