HOW TO KNOW HIM. 27 



must invariably increase in direct proportion to the in- 

 crease of speed and distance required of the animal. 

 In the steeple-chaser or the flat-racer it should be of 

 enormous depth, in order that the elevation of the ribs 

 may assist in forming a capacious circle, for the purpose 

 of accommodating the rapidly and frequently distended 

 lungs during the trying period of the race. In such 

 cases a round chest would be of no use, as the wind 

 would be completely pumped out of the horse before 

 he had gone half the requisite distance.'' — Carson on 

 the Horse. 



The best form the chest can possibly take in a horse 

 used for speed is the following: It should be wide 

 above, moderately so below (near the breast - bone), 

 and slightly flattened, but very deep, along the sides. 

 Such a shape to the chest will enable him to trot his 

 mile in 2.20, and be free from pain at the close of the 

 decisive heat. 



I might pursue these remarks much farther ; for the 

 subject is profoundly interesting to the student of the 

 horse, and I have by no means exhausted it : but my 

 space is limited ; and perhaps enough has been said to 

 give the reader, and young purchaser and breeder, the 

 main, essential points most worthy of attention. But, 

 before I pass to another section, I caution all would-be 

 breeders of fast and enduring horses, whether for the 

 racing or trotting course, as also all on the lookout for 

 a fast horse for their private use, to remember that that 

 portion of the horse where Nature has placed the heart 



