84 LESSONS IN HORSE JUDGING. 



constituted the withers. The spines of the back 

 are not all the same length, but require to be long, 

 in order that the horse may have a strong back. 

 The ribs must be long, so as to give depth to the chest, 

 and they must be well rounded, otherwise the horse 

 will be what is termed flatsided. This condition 

 limits the extension of the lungs from side to side, so 

 they have to extend backwards and encroach upon 

 the alimentary organs, more especially the stomach, 

 and this renders the animal less strong than he other- 

 wise would be. 



73. — The bottom of the chest at the girth place 

 and between the fore legs is clothed by the very 

 large ' pectoral' muscles, which in horses used for 

 great speed are very highly developed, so as to give 

 this part a very deep appearance. When these 

 muscles are large and the withers high, the fore part 

 of the trunk is very deep. 



On referring to the horses depicted in Fig. 10, 

 which represents our two extremes — speed and 

 strength — it will be seen that in horses used for 

 speed the chest is very large, and with the large 

 powerful muscles gives the fore hand its massive 

 appearance; while the belly is very small indeed. 

 This gives to the trunk its downwards and 

 forwards a.vis, as seen by our line. The draught 

 horse on the other hand, has, if anything, the chest 

 smaller than the belly, so that there the two 

 cavities are more of a size, hence the almost hori- 

 zontal axis of the trunk. 



