24S THE CIIE:ST. 



jManj- liorscs witli narrow clicsts, and a great deal of daylight nnder 

 tkem, have plenty of spirit and \villingness for Avork. They show themselves 

 off well, and exhibit the address and gratify the vanity of their riders on 

 the parade or in the pur'is., but they have not the appetite nor the endurance 

 that will carry them through three successive days' hard work. 



Five out of six of the aninials that perish from inflamed lungs are nar- 

 row-chested, and it might be safely afhrmed that the far greater part of 

 those Avho are lost in the field after a hard day's run, have been horses 

 whose training has been neglected, or who have no room for the lungs to 

 expand. The most important of all points in the conformation of the 

 horse is here elucidated. An elevated wither, or oblique shoulder, or 

 powei'ful quarters, are great advantages ; but that which is most of all 

 connected with the general health of the animal, and with combined 

 fleetness or bottom, is a deep, and broad, and swelling chest, with sufficient 

 lengthening of the sternum, or breast-bone, beneath. 



If a chest that cannot expand with the increasing expansion and labour 

 of the lungs is so serious a detriment to the horse, everything that in- 

 terferes with the action of the intercostal muscles is carefully to be avoided. 

 Tight girthing ranks among 'these, and foremost among them. The close- 

 ness with which the roller is buckled on in the stable must be a sei'ious 

 inconvenience to the horse ; and the partially depriving these muscles of 

 their power of action, for so many hours in every day, miTst indispose 

 them for labour when quicker and fuller respiration is required. At all 

 events, a tight girth, though an almost necessary nuisance, is a very con- 

 siderable one, when all the exertion of which he is capable is required 

 from the horse. Who has not perceived the address with which, by 

 bellying out the chest, the old horse renders every attempt to girth him 

 tight comparatively useless ; and when a horse is blown, what immediate 

 relief has ungii'thing him afforded, by permitting the intercostals to act 

 with greater power ? 



A point of consequence regarding the capacity of the chest is the length 

 or shortness of the carcase; or the extent of the ribs from the elbow 

 backward. Some horses are what is called ribbed home ; there is but 

 little space (see cuts pp. 140 and 244) between the last rib and the hip- 

 bone. In others the distance is considerably greater, and is plainly 

 evident by the falling in of the flank. The question then is, what service 

 is required from the horse ? If he has to carry a heavy weight, and has 

 much work to do, he should be ribbed home- — the last rib and the hip- 

 bone should not be far from each other. There is more capacity of chest 

 and of belly, there is less distance between the points of support, and 

 greater strength and endurance. A hackney (and we would almost say a 

 hunter) can scarcely be too well ribbed home. 



If speed, however, is required, there must be room for the full action of 

 the hinder limbs; and this can only exist where there is sufficient space 

 between the last rib and the hip-bone. The owner of the horse must make 

 u]) his mind as to what he wants from him, and be satisfied if he obtains 

 that ; for, let him be assured that he cannot have everything, for this 

 would require those differences of coiafoi'mation that cannot possibly exist 

 in the same animal. 



The thorax, or chest, is formed by the spine/, above (p. 244) ; the riba 

 e, on cither side ; and the sternum, or brcast-boue, c, beneath. 



