24 THE PERFECT HORSE. 



may be enlarged to accommodate the expansion of the 

 lungs. When the ribs are lifted, and the diaphragm 

 drawn back, the lungs swell out, being inflated, and fill 

 the enlarged chest ; and the air rushing into the air-cells 

 of the lungs, and then coming in contact with the impure 

 blood waiting to receive it, purifies it, and is then dis- 

 charged through the windpipe, from the nostrils. The 

 lungs are thus reduced to their former size, and the 

 chest shrinks to its normal proportion. This is the 

 process of breathing ; and upon its proper performance 

 depend the health and usefulness of the horse. 



An old horseman has well expressed it thus : '' Wind," 

 says he, ''is the grand secret of a fast horse. Good 

 lungs will cover a multitude of faults ; whilst, on the 

 other hand, perfection of shape and form are useless 

 when the wind is out." 



The chest, therefore, in all cases, should be large and 

 capacious. In shape it may vary somewhat, according 

 to the service to which the horse is to be put. If he is 

 kept for slow work and heavy drawing, the chest may be 

 nearly circular in form, because this shape is the one for 

 strength and bulk, to receive and bear up against the 

 pressure of the collar; while, at the same time, sufficient 

 room is secured for that expansion of the lungs caused 

 by slow and regular work. But, if the chest is circular, 

 let it be at the same time deep, or else the lungs may be 

 cramped. A horse with a shallow chest is worthless for 

 any purpose. The rule, then, is this : For a draft-horse, 

 a circular but deep chest ; but as you pass through the 



