HORSE TRAINING MADE BAST. 9 



that your eye will naturally fall, in the first 

 place, upon the fore legs. Any child can, of 

 course, tell whether these are straight or worn; 

 but it takes a clever man to judge how long they 

 are likely to remain straight, and without show- 

 ing signs of wear. Pick up each leg in turn and 

 look at the foot; is the frog sound and clean, or 

 does it carry an odor? If so, look more closely 

 to it; ascertain whether thrush, etc., exists; then 

 satisfy yourself as to the heels, which should be 

 open, and not contracted, that is, when the foot 

 narrows in the quarters, and the sole gets more 

 concave than it should be; and bear in mind that 

 "one pair of good feet is worth two good pairs of 

 legs." Now as to the latter: Run your hand 

 carefully down, from immediately below the 

 knee to the fetlock joint. Is the leg cool, flat 

 and clean? Let your digits make search for any 

 bony enlargements, splints, etc. , and " When 

 found, make a note of !" The particular note you 

 have to make is this: WTiere is the splint? If 

 situated on the bone, and not very close to the 

 knee, it will probably never interfere with either 

 his action, or his usefulness; but on the other 

 hand, if on or near the ligaments or tendons of 

 the leg, be shy in the extreme of him, for a day's 

 work may leave you with a cripple on your 

 hands. 



If the leg, instead of being flat, is rounded, 

 and apparently fleshy, it will probably be found 

 that the back sinews are strained, and, as an 

 intending purchaser, you had better have noth- 

 ing to do w^ith him. In this state, a good gallop 

 will be as likely as not to produce what is 

 known as breakdown — i. e. , the extreme case of 

 strain of the sinews, for, as a matter of fact, the 

 tendons themselves are very rareij strained. 



