46 THE PERFECT HORSE. 



animals rather forward on their legs at the knees. Still 

 the exact perpendicular is the true and desirable direc- 

 tion for the leg. 



I feel that I cannot do better, in this connection, than 

 to lay before the reader the opinion of one whose judg- 

 ment I have already quoted upon another matter. He 

 says, — 



" I think any person who takes the trouble of opening 

 his eyes may see that the safety of the horse's knees 

 depends chiefly on the slant of the shoulder and pastern^ 

 together with the method in which the foot is hi'ought into 

 contact with the ground. On this last point I am at 

 variance with popular opinion, which says that a horse, 

 in order to be safe, requires to be a high-lifter. I look 

 upon high-lifting as a very great fault. Just imagine 

 a man walking down one of the thoroughfares of Lon- 

 don or Dublin, and lifting his feet at every step half 

 way to his knee! He would certainly gain a great 

 deal of admiration at the expense of his corns, and 

 perhaps the point of his nose. Now, where is the 

 difference between a man and a horse, which should 

 make such a difference in the mode of their progres- 

 sion ? It is the laying-down of the foot which renders 

 the animal safe. Of course, the foot should be raised 

 sufficiently high to prevent the toe from coming into 

 contact with the ground ; but this is very different from 

 what is called high action. My objections are intended 

 to apply entirely to those which arc denominated high- 

 steppers. I would avoid all such as much as the daisy- 



