18 



THE FAMILY HORSE. 



^ UXF\ 11 



Fig. 18.— STRADDLED. Fig. 19.— KNOCK-KKEED. Fig, 20.— PIGEON-TOED. 



defect, if hard pulling is required. It has an awkward appear- 

 ance, however, and is a serious fault in a carriage or saddle-horse. 

 Here are some valuable hints by the 

 late Col. M. C. Weld on good and bad 

 legs: "All the training in the world 

 will not give a horse good legs, and 

 with this wanting, the spirit and the 

 sort of style which is developed by 

 training and oats, counts in real work 

 and service for very little. A horse 

 needs both, and then there is some 

 hope for liim. With a good set of legs 

 the trainer has the right foundation to 

 build upon. It is quite a 'point,' as 

 they say * on the street,' to know good 

 legs when you see them. It does not 

 take an expert to tell if a set of legs 

 look all right from the side, w^hen the 

 horse is either still or in action, but the 

 real points of view to judge critically 

 are directly in front or behind. The feet 

 are round, well up at the heels, large, 

 solid, and free from either grooves and 

 ridges running up and down, or from 

 irregularity in the lines of growth, 

 which always form fine parallel striae Fig. 21.— good hind legs. 



