CONFORMATION AND ACTION 15 



of shoulder best adapted to carrying a collar, but in a 

 saddle horse or hunter the ideal shoulder is an oblique 

 or slanting one. This is a fact that is well known 

 even to novices, but few people ever stop to ask them- 

 selves why a horse used for saddle purposes needs an 

 oblique shoulder, and what really constitutes an 

 oblique shoulder. This question of the proper rela- 

 tion of shoulder and wither is, perhaps, the most 

 difficult one for a beginner, in the study of a horse's 

 anatomy, to fully master. 



The popular notion that an oblique shoulder is 

 necessary to produce speed is quite wrong. The pro- 

 pelling power in a race-horse comes chiefly from behind, 

 and some of our fastest track performers have upright 

 shoulders. 



But race riding is a very different thing from hack- 

 ing and hunting. In the former the comfort of the 

 rider, perched up in his tiny saddle, is not considered 

 at all, and speed alone is the essential thing. In the 

 hack or the hunter the comfort of the rider and in the 

 hunter the ability to jump well are of more importance 

 than mere ability to cover the ground quickly. 



Now, it has been proven by long experience that an 

 oblique shoulder is most favorable for the mechanical 

 working of the muscles and tendons of the forehand, 

 and that a horse with this formation walks, trots, and 

 canters with freer action than a straight-shouldered 

 animal, and is, therefore, more comfortable to ride 

 and is less apt to fall if he stumbles or makes a mis- 

 take at a jump. Furthermore, an oblique-shouldered 

 horse is pleasanter to sit on, inasmuch as the saddle 

 is thereby placed well over the centre of gravity and 

 the rider has "plenty of rein in front of him." 



Some writers try to convince the reader that because 



