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CHAPTER V. 



The Action of Horses. 



When a horseman speaks of action he refers to the 

 movements the animal executes with its fore and 

 hind Hmbs. For instance, he says that a horse has 

 good ''front" action; or good action ''behind." 

 But these remarks are not confined to movements 

 executed by any particular joint. If he wishes 

 to do this, he speaks of good hock, knee, shoulder 

 action, etc. There is a wonderful difference in the 

 action of horses, and, when selecting an animal, 

 the work that it will be required to perform will, 

 to a large extent, have to guide one as to the class 

 of action most suitable for the purpose. Action is 

 spoken of as high and low, confined and extensive, 

 and also as good, bad, and indifferent. 



Good Action. 



A horse with a good action will be much less 

 likely to fall than one with a bad one. If the 

 action is good, it must be moderately high, cover a 



