460 



THE EXTERIOR OF THE HORSE. 



portion of that power of which it would be capable if the tibio-tarsal 



angle, less open, had placed the calcaneus in the best direction for the 



development of force. 



Finally, the gaits will lack action and sj)oed, because the abdominal 



supports of the trunk, nearer to tiieir limit of extension than in their 



normal axis, will consequently rotate through a smaller space by their 



superior extremity, during which they 

 proi)el the body, and possess less propul- 

 sive force. If they are well situated to 

 pass over much ground, they are unable 

 to profit from this advantage, since the 

 impulsion really only becomes efficacious 

 when the direct axis of the member has 

 just passed the vertical to become oblique 

 downward and backward. Now, this 

 latter direction being precisely that in 

 which the posterior column in this case 

 arrives on the ground, it follows that this 

 position will deprive the limb of all the 

 angular distance which previously sepa- 

 rates its direct axis from the normal. 



Axes viewed from Behind. — In 

 order to determine whether the direct axes 

 of the posterior members are well situated 

 in the plane of the vertical line which 

 passes through their centre of suspension, 

 it is necessary to observe the animal from 

 behind. In these conditions the following 

 line suffices to show the regularity of the 

 axis : 



A vertical line drawn down from the 

 'point oj the buttock should divide equally 

 the inferior part of the member^ from the 

 point of the hock down, and leave between 

 the hoofs an interval almost equal to 



the width of the fetlock (Fig. 164). 



If the member, as a whole, is situated oxdmde of this line, or if the 



separation of the hoofs alone be too great, the horse is said to be too 



open behind. 



If this only involves the region of the hock, the subject is styled 



bow-legged. 



Fig. 164. 



