THE RACEHORSE. 11 



should be. Imprimis, the arms should be broad and 

 flat as you look at them sideways ; the muscles going 

 full into the knees. The legs should stand in a per- 

 fectly perpendicular position, i.e. the elbows should 

 be in a direct line with the stifle joints, and neither 

 point inside nor outside the hind legs ; if the former, 

 the action will be jarring, stilty, and weak, owing to 

 the concussion being more direct ; and if the latter, it 

 will be sprawling and ineffective. 



Thus, if I were to choose between the out or in- 

 elbowed racehorse, I should manifestly choose the 

 latter as being the best adapted for racing, but never- 

 theless very far from being what is desirable. Were 

 I called on to mention the best legged racehorse I ever 

 saw, that one would be far and away Sweetmeat by 

 Gladiator, my especial favourite. 



From the knee downwards it is simple enough; 

 since it is chiefly composed of tendons, it stands to 

 reason that the space between the knee and the fet- 

 lock joint cannot be too short nor too broad; and 

 above all, the tendons should appear to enter the 

 posterior portion of the knee boldly. That I may 

 better explain my meaning as you look at the leg 

 sideways, as a whole, it should not appear as if the leg 

 were made up of so many different joints, but present 

 a beautiful and gradual tapering all the way from the 

 elbow to the fetlock joint. 



If there appear even to the casual observer 

 various indentations and abrupt lines, then there is an 

 undue contraction of the muscles or tendons somewhere, 



