28 THE HORSE BOOK. 



borne on the end of such a long and weak bony 

 structure as the neck is a poor piece of mechani- 

 cal engineering, only partially corrected by the 

 elastic ligament which stretches from the spines 

 of the backbone at the withers to the poll. If 

 the neck curves upward well and the bracing of 

 the muscles on the underside is adequate it will 

 be easier for the horse to keep his head where 

 it should be. Short stubbed necks are never 

 desirable. 



The ear should be reasonably long, not coarse 

 and never drooping. The head should be wide 

 between the eyes, straight in its forward outline 

 and of moderate length. The muzzle is hardly 

 ever too fine in any breed and the jaws should 

 be of depth proportionate to the other parts. 

 The more prominent the eye the better. Over 

 all the head should be lean and bony, and it 

 should be joined to the column of the neck so 

 that the horse may hold it away up and out with 

 little effort. 



The forelegs act merely as weight carriers. 

 The hind legs do the propelling. The knee 

 should be broad when viewed from in front and 

 deep when viewed from the side. The canon 

 and the tendon should be strong and the groove 

 between them as much accentuated as possible. 

 The pastern should be of good length and 

 oblique, sloping neatly into a smooth open coro- 

 net which joins a corresponding foot without 

 any roughness. The hocks should be broad from 



