VARIED FORM OF THE HORSE. 243 



in the withers, and slantmg shoulders ; short back, well 

 ribbed up, and broad loins ; sound, flat, short legs, with 

 plenty of bone under the knee : and sound, open, tough 

 feet.— Knee up, or grand action, though deemed an excel- 

 lence in cabriolet and carnage horses, is necessarily ac 

 companied with much wear and tear of feet and legs, and 

 this is very soon apparent. That he have good v^'ind, 

 w^ithout which the other qualifications will not avail, tor a 

 clear-winded coach horse will always keep his condition, 

 and consequently his health. In fact, coach horses should 

 be nothing more than very* large hackneys, varying in 

 height from lo hands 1 inch to 16 hands 1 inch ; if foi 

 machinery, a short neck is preferable ; but, as fashion is 

 every thing, in carriage horses, where a long arched neck 

 <s de^sired, particular attention should be paid to the set on 

 of the head, or otherwise, tight reining up, by constricting 

 and twisting the air passages, will produce roaring. 



In the horse for slow and heavy draught, where weight 

 and bulk are required, we perceive the greatest difference 

 in formation. While in the hackney and hunter, in the 

 one, that we may ride safely and pleasantly, and in the 

 other, where extensive, powerful, and rapid action is re- 

 quired, an oblique shoulder is indispensable. But here, 

 where the pace is slow, we desire a heavy forehand, not 

 too elevated, that he may throw his weight into the collar 

 for all drawing is but throwing the weight of the body 

 beyond its centre. 



An upright shoulder and thick neck, for this pui-pose, is 

 an advantage, because its additional thickness gives them 

 weight before, which the power of their hinder quarters 

 is always able to propel, and because the upright position 

 of the collar enables him to throw his weight into, and act 

 on, every part of it. 



He should be short in the pasterns, deep bellied, and 

 full in the flank ; for all deep bellied horses carry their 

 food longer, and are consequently enabled to stand a longer 

 and harder day's work. 



But though most persons having any experience of the 

 fiubject are aware that horses with deep shoulders and bo- 

 dies, and capacious chests, are more capable of enduring 

 bard and long-continued labour than those in which the 

 shoulders and chest are shallow, and the legs long ; yel 

 comparatively few know how rapidly the jJowers of draught 

 17 



