POSTERIOR MEMBER. 293 



carpal check tendon always has a greater volume than its homologue 

 in the posterior member. 



The function of the fetlock is deduced from the preceding consid- 

 erations. It is a veritable elastic mechanism or spring, which consti- 

 tutes, for the weight of the body, an apparatus of sustentation and an 

 apparatus of dispersion ; it relieves the muscles charged with the sup- 

 port of the body, at the same time that it prevents, by its elasticity, 

 the effects of the concussion of the latter against the ground. 



External Form. Viewed in front, the fetlock forms a spheroidal 

 relief circumscribed laterally by two convex lines which are continuous 

 above and below with the lateral faces of the canon and of the fetlock. 

 Viewed in profile, it is limited, on the contrary, in front by a concave 

 curve which continues symmetrically the profile of the anterior face 

 of the adjoining regions, while, behind, it presents a salient angle 

 whose superior branch is tangent to the tendons, and whose summit 

 corresponds to a tuft of hairs, the footlock, containing in its centre the 

 horny production called the ergot. A fine skin with short hairs covers 

 it and, to a certain point, enables one to conjecture its anatomy in 

 highly-bred horses. In horses of the common races, on the contrary, 

 the external details are more or less masked in consequence of the 

 thickness of the integument and the quantity and coarseness of the 

 pilous production. The region is also, in such cases, the object of 

 special care on the part of dealers, which consists in removing the hairs 

 of the footlock in order to give to the animals an appearance of fineness 

 and distinction which they do not in reality possess. We will again 

 return to this in the chapter on the toilet. 



Beauties. The fetlock, like all the articulations, in order to be 

 beautiful, should be wide, thick, well directed, fine, and free from 

 blemishes. 



Width. The width is given by the extent of the antero-posterior 

 diameter, and is appreciated, consequently, by examining the horse in 

 profile. It depends upon two elements : the volume of the inferior 

 extremity of the canon and that of the sesamoid bones (Fig. 98) ; whence 

 it is apparent that it should be ample, for it is proportional to the firm- 

 ness of contact of the members, to the extent of the movements, and, 

 finally, to the length of the arm of the lever AB, whose development 

 favors the action of the suspensory apparatus of the tendons and of 

 the suspensory ligament of the fetlock. When the articulation is 

 narrow, the tendon is close to the canon, the animal has little firmness 

 of step, lacks force, and is ruined all the quicker as the members are 

 weaker as columns of support in relation to the body. 



