382 HOKSE POETEAITUEE. 



majority of cases, have a. blooming coat, every hair in its 

 right place, glossy and shining like the feathers on a 

 pigeon's neck. The muscles should be prominent, and, being 

 handled, feel hard and springy. The skin should be loose, 

 so that you can pull it away from the flesh for quite a dis- 

 tance, but, when released from the grasp, fly back like a 

 piece of rubber. The interstices between the muscles 

 should show distinctly, which gives that cordy appearance, 

 like a cable made of wire. The legs should be free from 

 swelling, cool, and the tendons hard, with a sharp outline. 

 The joints should be divested of everything but bone and 

 tendon, the skin on them loose, but firm. The neck is a 

 great guide in determining condition, and though the 

 large muscles running from the shoulder to the poll have 

 nothing to do with progression, the state they are in will 

 be a guide to aid us in arriving at the condition of the 

 other parts. The windpipe should be detached, with noth- 

 ing to hide the view of it, to where it enters the chest. 

 Near the joining of the head it ought to hang loose, show- 

 ing three-quarters of its circumference. The muscles of 

 the neck should be clearly denned, and the upper one that 

 forms the crest, should rise to a sharp edge, and be as 

 hard as a cut nail. This sharpness arises from the ab- 

 sorption of the fatty matter that lies immediately below 

 the mane. 



The great index, however, is the eye, and though the 

 horse may have all the appearance of condition that I have 

 imperfectly noted, if the eye be dull, or give fitful flashes 

 of animation in the excitement of coming on to the track, 

 he will surely not be able to do what he ought to. It is 

 very hard to describe the appearance of the eye of a horse 

 when in prime condition, as the natural expression varies 

 as much as those of the human family, and we will have 

 to be well acquainted with each individual, to avail our- 

 selves of this as a criterion. I never saw a horse that the 



