ANTERIOR MEMBER. 225 



The tendons which terminate, under such conditions, the posterior 

 radial muscles are short and thick ; they are well separated from the 

 canon and favorably disposed to fulfil their function of support in 

 relation to the fetlock. The antero-posterior diameter of this region 

 should be considerable, in the draught-horse more than in any others, 

 since it is in relation with the contractile force of these muscles,' pro- 

 vided they are dense, firm, and poor in adipose and connectiveJissues. 



When the forearm offers dimensions opposed to the preceding, it is 

 defective by reason of its small volume, and is called slender. The 

 slender forearm characterizes ordinarily a horse without energy, with 

 long, disproportionate limbs, vulgarly called weedy ; he lacks strength 

 and firmness, and, in general, is defective in most instances in the other 

 regions. 



Thickness. The thickness, in close relation with the width, is 

 measured from side to side, viewing the region from in front. It is 

 recognizable by the prominence which the anterior antibrachial muscles 

 form externally. It is desirable to have the thickness as extensive as 

 possible, for the reasons which we have previously indicated. It may 

 be remarked, nevertheless, that the forearm does not have the same 

 muscular development in the thoroughbred horse as in the draught- 

 horse ; the region appears flat in the former, whilst it seems rounded 

 in the latter. 



Direction. The direction of the forearm is as important a 

 characteristic of its beauty as its length and its breadth. It should be 

 vertical when the horse is examined in profile, and parallel with the 

 median plane of the body when he is viewed in front. The vertical 

 axis in this case is not altered, and the members are well placed to 

 support the weight of the body. 



If the inferior extremity of the region be directed forward or 

 backward, outward or inward from the vertical line, the direction is 

 vicious ; certain parts of the limbs become exhausted and prematurely 

 ruined, to which we will again refer in speaking of the knee and the 

 vertical axes, because any deviation of this nature, altering the vertical 

 position of the segment, demands an increase of function of the muscles 

 equivalent to the part of the weight which is no more supported by 

 the bones themselves. 



It is not without interest to present here the details of the rdle 

 which the direction of the arm plays in the effective utilization of the 

 antibrachial movements. The angle formed by the two segments 

 depends upon the more or less marked degree of inclination of the 

 humerus. When the latter approaches the horizontal, this angle is so 



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