HOW TO SELECT A HORSE 27 



the low-bred, ragged-hipped, coarse-haired type. The 

 horses of the first class will look fat and sleek, whereas 

 the horses of the second type will look thin and jaded, 

 although all the horses do the same amount of work. 

 The Old-Horse Class in a Work-Horse Parade is 

 another illustration. The veteran steeds shown in that 

 class are almost invariably horses of quality. They 

 represent the survival of the fittest; and the fittest are 

 the well-bred ones. 



CONFORMATION 



There is a close similarity between the good points 

 of all horses, whether they are race horses, draft horses, 

 or what not; the main difference being this, that a 

 rather long leg is essential to speed either at the 

 running or trotting gait, whereas a draft horse can 

 hardly be too short-legged, except that an extremely 

 short-legged horse is apt to be a slow walker. 



The legs, especially the cannon bone, should be 

 broad, flat, and " clean," as horsemen say, by which 

 they mean free from flesh — all bone, muscle, and skin. 

 ''There isn't meat enough on the whole four legs of 

 that horse," I once heard an enthusiastic dealer declare, 

 "to make a lunch for a dyspeptic sparrow." 



A leg that has a small, tied-in look immediately 

 below the knee is always a weak leg. Round legs are 

 subject to windgalls and other infirmities. Cow hocks 

 and sickle hocks are weak formations, subject to spavin. 

 A rather crooked hind leg is indeed associated with 

 speed, but for strength and endurance the hind leg 

 should be fairly straight; not absolutely straight, for, 



