30 THE PERFECT HORSE. 



points directly to fine-bred limbs, neck, and head. I 

 urge all my readers to remember this also, — that no one 

 can be a good judge of the horse, no matter what his 

 pretensions are, unless he is perfectly familiar with the 

 size, length, and proper position of every bone in the 

 skeleton: for they are the props and levers of the 

 entire structure ; and on their shape, length, position, 

 and texture, the capacity of the animal for any allotted 

 service depends. I will now ask your attention to the 



SHOULDER. 



There is no one type of shoulder, either as to its bone 

 and muscular structure or its length and position, 

 which may be called the perfect shoulder ; because, be- 

 yond almost any other part of the horse, the shoulder 

 is to be considered in relation to the service required of 

 him. Hence it becomes necessary for one to make him- 

 self acquainted with the several kinds of shoulder; 

 each of which, in their way, is the perfect shoulder for 

 the work to which it is adapted. This prime fact is 

 often overlooked by the purchaser and breeder in his 

 selection of horses and brood-mares; and hence the 

 more need of some remarks, at this point, upon it. 



A draught-horse requires such a construction of the 

 shoulders as to offer a fine and abundant resistance to 

 the collar, and so shaped as to fit it evenly ; thus dis- 

 tributing the pressure over the entire surface, with 

 weight enough to assist the hind-quarters in moving 

 the enormous loads which the animal is often called 



