SIGNS OF CONDITION. 201 



and will be free from oily matters ; his legs and feet cool ; 

 his muscles hard, prominent, and distinct from each other ; 

 those extending along each side of the vertebrae of his 

 back will be full and massive, while those over his 

 quarters will swell up to a certain convexity. The 

 ribs will be clearly visible, and the " quarter mark" 

 division between the biceps rotator tibialis and triceps 

 abductor femoris muscles well defined ; the space round 

 his anus should be prominent and well filled; his thighs 

 should be so developed that they should meet for a con- 

 siderable way down ; his crest should be full and hard ; 

 and the caput muscles which lie just above his 

 forearm should come out in a distinct lump. " Who 

 can fail to see in a well-trained race-horse the muscles 

 standing, as it were, prominently one from another about 

 the quarters and thighs, ' hard as iron' to the touch, 

 and giving the animal an appearance of being thin 

 and poor. The appearance of thinness is the result 

 of the great prominence of each individual muscle, of 

 increase in their volume and weight, and an extraordi- 

 nary healthy tonicity." (Williams.) 



