252 



THE TRUNK. 



Shortness of Loins and Back. — The appearance of com- 

 parative shortness or comparative length which the back 

 and loins (or back, if we include the loins in this term, 

 see p. 17) may present, is due, I would submit, chiefly 

 to the following causes : — 



I. The manner in which the croup runs into the loins. 

 For instance, the back and loins will appear short and the 

 croup (or " quarters ") long, if the pelvis be more or less 

 horizontal ; the contour of the croup free from angularity ; 

 the muscles over the loins largely developed ; and the 

 flanks well ribbed up. We may here compare Fig. 337 

 with Fig. 338, and Ormonde (Frontispiece). 



Fig. 336. — Sections of loins. 



The slmderl portion of this figure represents the upper part of a transverse section of the 

 loins, just behind the cantle of tlie saddle, of a horse with " wedge-sliaped " loins: and the 

 whole figure (shaded portion and that outside it), that of a horse with fairly flat loins. 



2. The distance to which the withers nm back. We 

 may observe that the extreme lowness of the withers in the 

 onager (Fig. 339) and Nubian wild ass (Fig. 402), gives 

 the backs of these animals a false appearance of undue 

 length. The angularity of the contour of Mike's croup 

 (Fig. 279) might lead one to form the wrong opinion 

 that he was long in the back and loins, if his withers did 

 not extend so far to the rear, as tq counteract that 

 impression. 



3. The degree of slope of the shoulder and pelvis. It 

 is evident that the greater the angle formed by the respective 

 directions of the shoulder-blade and pelvis produced (the 

 more oblique the shoulder and the more horizontal the 



