ANATOMICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



45 



skeleton ? In prancing, in rearing, and in jumping, tlie hind legs are 

 firmly planted upon the earth ; then, by exertion of the powerful mus- 

 cles of the quarters, the forward trunk is 

 raised. This action could not have been 

 exhibited had the spines of the sacral bones 

 ranged in the same direction as those of the 

 lumbar vertebras ; and to enforce the reason 

 of this evident provision a free space char- 

 acterizes this particular joint, others being 

 formed by the interposition of cartilage. 



The skeleton of the quarters is charac- 

 terized by further distinctive peculiarities. 

 The sacral bones are fixed one to another, 

 and joining them at the spine is the huge 

 hip-bone. This is the heaviest of the many 

 weighty pieces which compose the osseous 

 frame of the horse. It is irregular in form, 

 and remarkable for an unusually rugged 

 exterior. An anatomist, by simply inspect- 

 ing it, could designate its uses, so emphat- 

 ically is everywhere written the origin and 

 insertion of powerful motor muscles. In 

 every ridge, in every indentation, in every 

 inequality anatomy discovers such a pur- 

 pose; thus, when "the gnarled and bossy" 



developments upon this bone are viewed in conjunction with the sohd 

 and uneven appearance of the lower osseous supports of the hind limb, 

 no person properly instructed can doubt that the quarters are peculiarly 

 the seat of muscular power in the equine race. 



Then the angular arrangement of the bones suggests the immediate 

 purpose of flexion and extension. "Yes," interrupts the reader, "that 

 is true ; but supposing the loose bones of the skeleton only to exist, what 

 was to suggest the angularity of arrangement ?" Such a fact could be 

 thus readily ascertained. The bodies of other animals would inform the 

 anatomist of the relative situations of the stifle and the elbow joints, 

 while the different lengths and points of bearing in the fore and hind 

 extremities would instruct him concerning all the rest. 



But no knowledge could enable the anatomist to infer the gracefulness 

 of form and flow of line which characterizes the body of the, horse, even 

 when deprived of its outward investment. Here is a sketch of the quar- 

 ter after partial dissection. It scarcely awakens the disgust which ana- 

 tomical labors generally create. The elegance which distinguishes the 



THE BONES OF THE HIND EXTEEMITT. 



