SUPERIOR FACE OF THE BODY. 121 



its depression, to an exaggerated degree, is rendered more easy, and the 

 back may even become concave under the pressure of excessive weight. 

 Long-backed horses are more predisposed than others to fracture of 

 the vertebrae during surgical operations in the recumbent position. 



As to the short back, it presents the elements of great strength 

 and solidity, transmits the action of the hind limbs with greater force, 

 and rarely becomes sway-backed ; but, conversely, it lacks flexibility 

 of movement, diminishes the capacity of the thoracic cavity, and limits 

 the play of the posterior limbs. The animal is predisposed to forging 

 as soon as he is obliged to lengthen his steps, unless the loins, by an 

 excess of length, preserve the required proportions of the dorso-lumbar 

 region as a whole. Under these circumstances this defect is apt to be 

 obscured by one that is more grave, as we shall see further on. 



Most authors who have written of this subject pretend that short- 

 ness of the back constitutes its first beauty. H. Bouley l has very 

 judiciously asserted that this proposition is too absolute. A very short 

 back is not desirable except in animals destined to carry heavy weights, 

 as the shaft-horse, the pack-horse, the mule, the ass, and the saddle- 

 horse. In the last, from which speed is exacted, a deficiency in the 

 length of the chest should be compensated by the arching of the ribs 

 and their increased projection backward. As to the diminished stride 

 of the legs, it may be redeemed by the multiplicity and rapidity of 

 their movements. An elevated carriage -of the head, throwing the 

 weight upon the hind and liberating the fore limbs, tends to prevent 

 forging. Moreover, by judicious handling, the short-backed saddle- 

 horse can be taught, little by little, to elevate the anterior members 

 quickly enough and sufficiently far in advance, so that they will not be 

 touched by the posterior. 



The same considerations are applicable to animals other than saddle- 

 horses, in which a long back would be deemed preferable, with the pre- 

 sumption that the dorso-lumbar spine be well directed and strongly 

 muscled. 



Width. The width is also one of the qualities of the back to 

 be considered. It is in relation with the transverse diameter of the 

 chest and the volume of the ilio-spinalis muscles. When the back is 

 narroiv, the ribs are often flat, the thoracic cavity deficient in space or 

 volume, the spinal crest too prominent, and the parts are predisposed 

 to wounds and abrasions from the harness or the saddle. Thus narrow- 

 ness of the back, for these reasons, may become a positive defect. 



1 H. Bouley, loc. cit., art. " Dos." 



