PHYSICAL CONFORMATION. 67 



owners had dropped him from consideration as a sire of trotters, and 

 rested on him as the producer of stately, high-steppin-- ^rriage horses. 

 His measure was 13 and 20 — the only son of Hambletonian that dis- 

 played such a conformation, so far as I have seen. This is a very 

 wide difference; and a close study of different animals reveals the fact, 

 that a very slight variation in the relative length of these parts ma- 

 terially affects the gait. 



Volunteer has a measurement of the front leg of ll:j: and 21 ; while 

 most of his family run 11 and 21. My own mare, Orange Queen, is 

 10^ and 21 — precisely the same as the dam of Volunteer — and in the 

 chapter on Volunteer it will be found that this peculiarity of the fam- 

 ily is traceable to his dam. 



Almont is 11 and 21; and the common objection urged against his' 

 get is, that they lack in knee-action; while Thorndale, with his 11-^ 

 and 20|-, has far-reaching, yet rounding, action of his front legs, lifting 

 his knees and slightly bending them — about as pleasing in that respect 

 as the most fastidious eye could demand. 



Administrator measures llf and 21; and, to my eye, his front-leg 

 action is very superior indeed. 



Geo. Wilkes, a smaller horse, has 10^ and 20, and no lack of knee- 

 action. My own stallion. Argonaut, with a measure of 11|^ and 21, 

 displays a far-reaching action, with slight curving of the foreleg — a 

 rounding motion that is admired and approved by all who witness it. 



Gov. Sprague and Florida have each a measure of 11 and 21, 

 and a front action not quite so rounding, but very satisfactory and 

 vigorous. These facts show, that in matters of precise measurement 

 the exact rule can not be absolutely followed, however valuable may be 

 its teaching in the aggregate or in the measure of approximate 

 truth. In many of the Pilots I have observed the conformation that 

 gave too much knee-action; while in those descended from St. Law- 

 rence, measuring about 11:^ and 21, 1 have found, with unvarying uni- 

 formity, a far-reaching, gently-cvirving, but never hard-pounding action 

 of the front feet, that can hardly be surpassed — an admirable medium 

 between the two extremes of too much and too little. 



The American Star cross is not uniform in this regard, but divides 

 toward one side or the other. The first American Star was by Duroc, 

 son of Diomed, and the second, or Seely's American Star, was from a 

 mare by Henry, and his dam was by Diomed. Henry and the Diomeds 

 had a short forearm and a long cannon, as shown by all the distinct lines 

 coming from them. And the American Star family take either strong- 



