266 THE FORE LIMB. 



ness-horse, any more than a saddle-horse, to have too 

 good fore legs. 



The Shoulder. — The popular though somewhat mis- 

 guiding terms, " oblique " and " sloping," are applied to 

 the shoulder, when the shoulder-blade is less upright than 

 usual (Fig. 344); and the terms, "upright," "perpen- 

 dicular," and " straight," when it assumes a still more 

 vertical position (Fig. 345). 



The degree of slope of the shoulder is difficult for 

 inexperienced persons to determine, especially when the 

 part is covered by fat or by thick muscles. French 

 writers give rules for measuring the obliquity of the 

 shoulder-blade by means of a clinometer, which is an 

 operation that is not always easy to perform satis- 

 factorily. Persons who have carefully and practically 

 studied the subject, will find that they can rely fairly 

 well on the results of inspection by their eyes. The 

 horse with the most oblique shoulders I have ever 

 seen was St. Simon (Fig. 16), whose photograph, I 

 regret to say, does not render this point properly, as 

 it is a little fore-shortened. The lines of his shoulder 

 are correctly shown in Fig. 17, which is a reproduction 

 of a photograph that had to be "faked" a good 

 deal. As this illustration gives his exact outline 

 taken in strict profile, it is valuable for comparison ; 

 although much of the detail which would have been given 

 in a good photograph is wanting. Ormonde (Frontis- 

 piece), Lord Arthur (Fig. 275), Predominant (Fig. 278), 

 Dynamite (Fig. 284), The Brat (Fig. 309), and Midship- 

 mite (Fig. 346) had very good, sloping shoulders. We 

 see instances of straight shoulders in Figs. 307, 333 

 and 347. 



We have seen on pages 62 and 63 that the more oblique 

 are the shoulders, the greater ability will a horse have to 

 raise and advance his fore legs. Also, oblique shoulders 

 are valuable aids to speed at the gallop, and in leap- 



