16 CASES IX POINT. 



quently been told that unless a horse be six feet and 

 more, he cannot be considered a Derby or Leger 

 horse. Yet how strangely did Teddington, who was 

 nearer five feet six inches than six feet when he won 

 the Derby, upset this theory ! How also did Sweet- 

 meat, Fandango, St. Alban's, and Saunterer, with 

 comparatively light girths, support this theory ! 



But let us look into the formation of the girths, 

 or true ribs, and ascertain how a very deep girth does 

 or does not constitute strength. First then, in passing 

 the tape behind the withers, and judging of the mea- 

 surement, you should remark of what the measure- 

 ment be composed. Should the true ribs be flat and 

 deep, like those of some greyhounds, with an exag- 

 gerated development of the pectoralis magnus (as is 

 often the case with such formation) no great object will 

 be obtained. 



Bather see that the horse has a properly formed 

 girth, for the tape passes over muscles (serratus mag- 

 nus) that alone extend and draw forward and outward 

 the ribs that expand the chest, that move the shoulder 

 blade in action (latissimus dorsi), that retract the 

 humerus and brace the muscles of the back (pectoralis 

 magnus), that aid the muscles of the haunch in 

 propelling the body. It will thus be seen that great 

 development of these muscles, or as the jockeys term 

 it " thickness between the knees," is a great sign of 

 strength of wind and limb. I know from repeated trials 

 that this latter formation will not measure so much as 

 the former. It was only the other day that I measured 



