GENERAL VIEW OF THE TRUNK. 227 



has to be regarded, endurance and weight-carr3ring power 

 have to be proportionately sacrificed, in which case, the 

 animal is worthless from a useful point of view, especi- 

 ally, as its one good quality can, as a rule, be transmitted 

 to its descendants, only in company with its bad ones. 



In all cases, the body should be as short as possible 

 compared to its depth ; or, in other words, as deep as 

 possible, compared to its length. The longer it is, the 

 farther removed will the fore and hind limbs be from 

 each other, and the less able will the animal be to carry 

 weight. On p. 67 we have seen that a short body is a 

 desirable point in the race-horse and jumper. Also in 

 draught, any undue length of body is a disadvantage ; for 

 the farther the fore and hind legs are apart, the less rigid 

 will be the connection between them, and the less effi- 

 ciently will they work together. When speaking of the 

 depth of a horse's body, I refer to its depth at the lowest 

 point of its back (Fig. 15). If an animal shows a good 

 measurement at this part, he is almost certain to possess 

 fair substance of body. The measurement from the 

 withers to the brisket is very fallacious ; for it is affected 

 by the actual height of the withers, and it affords 

 hardly any indication of the nature of the " centre-piece " 

 of the body. Many horses which are very short in their 

 back ribs have good depth from withers to brisket, 

 as in Figs. 318 and 326. 



Endurance {j>- 8) chiefly depends on the amount of 

 energy which can be supplied to the animal machine. 

 Hence, the conformation of the structures which enclose 

 the lungs and abdominal organs (stomach, liver, intestines, 

 etc.), should be as favourable as possible for promoting 

 their working capacity, which subject will be discussed 

 on pages 232 to 236. 



Chest and Ribs.— Although the heart, as well as the 

 lungs, is contained in the chest, I shall not consider it 

 here ; for I can offer no clue as to its action from a 



15* 



