HOW TO KNOW HIM. 61 



over which will be distributed the concussions to which 

 this joint is inevitably exposed when the horse is in 

 rapid action. But size alone is not enough. It should 

 be well proportioned, each and every part of fit and 

 adequate size, so that symmetry, also, shall be attained. 

 The bone that forms the hindermost point of the hock 

 can scarcely be too large ; for, the farther it is pushed 

 up, the greater is the leverage capacity of those im- 

 mense sinews which are inserted into it. This bone 

 should be strong and of great size, as should also be 

 the sinew whMi runs upward towards the thigh. 

 This should stand well out from the bone, so as to be 

 clearly perceived by the eye, and easily examined by 

 the pressure of the finger. The lower thigh-bone 

 should run into the hock-joint at a pretty sharp angle ; 

 but here the angular formation should cease. From 

 this point down to the pastern the leg-bone should be 

 as straight as a perpendicular line ; for whatever curve 

 there may be to it, will, as you can understand, cause the 

 back sinews to work at a great disadvantage. Friction 

 with every movement must result; and it is friction 

 which begets inflammation. Such a horse is ever liable 

 to become curbed. A word about this curb. The back 

 sinew Avhich runs down along the edge of the hock-joint 

 is held safely in its place by a ligament specially de- 

 signed for this purpose, called the annula ligament. 

 This spans the joint at the lower end of it like an arch 

 from one side to the other. Of course, if the bones are 

 so placed as to allow the sinew to run in an exact per- 



