CONFORMATION OF THE HORSE. 21 



limbs. But a good action in front may so captivate 

 the intending purchaser, that he never sees bad 

 or indifferent action behind. To be of good con- 

 formation, the hocks must be broad at their junction 

 with the cannon bones, because, if narrow, the dis- 

 tribution of pressure is very Uable to lead to the 

 formation of bone spavin. Hocks of this descrip- 

 tion are spoken of as being " tied in " below. The 

 short, fleshy, upright hock, is believed to pre- 

 dispose to the production of thorough-pin, just 

 in the same manner that the over-bent, or sickle- 

 shaped hock, favours the formation of curb. When 

 the hocks are viewed from behind, the points of 

 both should look directly backwards and neither 

 turn in nor outwards. The various prominences 

 should be indicated beneath the thin skin covering 

 the hocks, and, when manipulated, the joints should 

 give evidence of being " clean," i.e., there should be 

 no sign of useless tissue beneath the skin, no indi- 

 cation of pufhness, and no sign of disease. Viewed 

 from the front, the joints should be wide and square 

 and, in profile, show width and depth. When the 

 points of the hocks are turned inwards, the term 

 " cow-hocked " is applied. In coarse-bred horses 

 the skin over the hocks is usually thick, and the 

 bony prominences beneath not plainly indicated. 



