22 FORMATION. 



seen no reason for altering the verdict, since not one 

 first-class horse can I call to mind with this defect. 



In spite of this, one frequently sees people who 

 ought to be good judges overlooking this point in toto, 

 and having to pay pretty dearly for their carelessness 

 in consequence. 



THE HOCK. 



Scarcely less important than the thigh is the 

 hock ; for by reason of malformation and consequent 

 weakness in this part, the muscles of the thigh will be 

 deprived of the force of their action, or at any rate 

 they will have to perform their action with unsatisfac- 

 tory and feeble results. 



The calcis or point of the hock should be a consider- 

 able distance from the other bones of the hock, inasmuch 

 as the power of action or length of leverage of the 

 tendons will be in exact proportion to the distance ; 

 therefore, to come to the point, the hock should be very 

 broad as you look at it sideways. The hock should 

 taper gradually into the shank, and not present a tied or 

 wasted appearance at its inferior extremity. The hock 

 should be free from all fleshiness between the calcis 

 and the other bones, as well as behind and below the 

 calcis. I have seen horses with rather full hocks (I 

 neither talk of thorough-pins nor curbs) that always 

 go sound and well ; but still I have never found them 

 to be remarkable as jumpers or stayers. Indeed, such 

 formation must arise either from inherent weakness in, 

 or incipient inflammation of the bursae of the joints or 

 ligaments, as the case may be. I am quite indifferent 



