THE RACEHORSE. 11 



should be. Imprimis, the arms should be broad and 

 flat as you look at them sideways ; the muscles going 

 full into the knees. The legs should stand in a per- 

 fectly perpendicular position, — i.e. the elbows should 

 be in a direct line with the stifle joints, and neither 

 point inside nor outside the hind legs ; if the former, 

 the action will be jarring, stilty, and weak, owing to 

 the concussion being more direct ; and if the latter, it 

 will be sprawling and ineffective. 



Thus, if I were to choose between the out or in- 

 elbowed racehorse, I should manifestly choose the 

 latter as being the best adapted for racing, but never- 

 theless very far from being what is desirable. Were 

 I called on to mention the best les^ed racehorse I ever 

 saw, that one would be far and away Sweetmeat by 

 Gladiator, my especial favourite. 



From the knee downwards it is simple enough; 

 since it is chiefly composed of tendons, it stands to 

 reason that the space between the knee and the fet- 

 lock joint cannot be too short nor too broad; and 

 above all, the tendons should appear to enter the 

 posterior portion of the knee boldly. That I may 

 better explain my meaning — as you look at the leg 

 sideways, as a whole, it should not appear as if the leg 

 were made up of so many different joints, but present 

 a beautiful and gradual tapering all the way from the 

 elbow to the fetlock joint. 



If there appear — even to the casual observer — 

 various indentations and abrupt lines, then there is an 

 undue contraction of the muscles or tendons somewhere, 



