CONFORMATION AND ACTION 21 



on some other part of the anatomy. He should stand 

 over a lot of ground, i. e., should have plenty of length 

 between his fore legs and hind legs when these are 

 placed evenly and squarely. Grooms, in order to give 

 an idea of length are in the habit of teaching horses to 

 "spread" their fore and hind legs as far apart as 

 possible, with the former straddling away out in front 

 and the latter almost in another county. This ridic- 

 ulous and ugly trick deceives no one but a fool. 



The fore leg should be about even with a plumb-line 

 dropped from the point of the shoulder to the point 

 of the toe, and it should be flat on the sides, narrow- 

 ing toward the back like a razor. The elbows should 

 stand clear of the chest and not be "tied in" toward 

 the body, for an animal with this defect is bound to 

 be cramped in his action, a fact very easily noticed 

 when he walks away from the observer. The knees 

 should be well let down, or, in other words, the 

 radius or upper bone should be longer than the lower 

 or cannon-bone (see horse in illustration facing page 

 2). This formation will enable the hoof just to clear 

 the elbow when the leg is lifted and the knee is bent 

 to its limit. The bones of the forearm should be well 

 supplied with muscles, and immediately above the 

 knee the leg should appear broad from any angle. 

 The knees in themselves are composed of many bones, 

 which are best able to stand the wear and tear that 

 they get if they are well formed and fairly large. 

 Viewed from the front the knees should appear large, 

 wide, and prominent, but from the side they should 

 appear straight and flat and show no tendency to cave 

 in backward (calf -kneed), nor yet forward (knee- 

 sprung). The first formation causes undue strain to 

 fall on the back tendons and ligaments, but the second 



