THE STALLION. 29 



front to back and of strong structure. The 

 set of those joints should be such that a plumb- 

 line dropped from the posterior angle of the 

 hip should strike the hock and traverse the en- 

 tire length of the tendon. This brings the 

 weight to bear downward in a perpendicular 

 line and gives the most strength. Quality of the 

 legs has already been discussed, as has the tex- 

 ture and character of the hoof. Avoid horses 

 that stand with their forelegs stretched out in 

 front of them or tucked in below them. 



Action must necessarily be different in the 

 different sorts of horse and as such will be dealt 

 with specifically in considering the various 

 breeds. Generally speaking in all horses the 

 step at the walk should be straight forward, 

 each foot being picked up cleanly and showing 

 the shoe at each stride. At the trot the move- 

 ment should be bold and free, the legs carried 

 well together, especially behind. Very wide ac- 

 tion behind is a fault. Even in fast trotters 

 where it has been condoned it is now deprecated 

 as all the fastest are line trotters and do not 

 throw the hind legs outside the front. A horse 

 that stands *^ nigger-heeled'' or with his front 

 toes out, will usually strike his knees. The one 

 that toes in will go clear. Paddling or throwing 

 the fore feet outward toward the finish of the 

 stroke is very objectionable as also is the out- 

 ward or inward movem^ent of the knee. The 

 hocks should be kept close together, flexed 



