812 THE EXTERIOR OF THE HORSE. 



towards the horse, it loses its horizontal position and, consequently, 

 makes the height too great ; curved in the opposite direction, the result 

 obtained is too small. 



One means of verifying the vertical direction of the instrument is 

 to examine with it, from in front and from the side, the corner of a 

 building, the moulding on a wall, a door-postj etc. ; in a word, some 

 vertical object which is close by. Differences in certain results are 

 very often occasioned by neglect of this fundamental test. In this 

 respect, the hippometer with a pedestal is as uncertain as the others ; 

 it deserves even less confidence when it is employed upon soil not 

 perfectly horizontal and uniform ; the least unevenness of the ground 

 will cause a deviation of the horizontal arm, the extent of which is 

 directly proportional with the height of the instrument. It is therefore 

 necessary to verify its horizontal direction at each examination ; the small 

 pedestal upon which it is mounted has, in our opinion, no other use than 

 to enable the operator to get rid of it easily when it is in his way. 



With the hippometric cane we must take care that its extremity be 

 not lower than the shoe of the horse. This may take place if the 

 horse be measured upon uneven pavements or stable floors. In such 

 cases the extremity of the cane sometimes rests in a depression or an 

 interstice, whose depth and width, however, are not sufficient to change 

 the equilibrium of the hoof. 



Finally, we must take notice of the height of the anterior heels, 

 the thickness of the shoes and their heels, as well as the quantity of 

 adipose tissue, which, in stallions, is often excessive upon the superior 

 border of the neck and more or less conceals the summit of the withers. 



Concerning army horses, Captain Rivet 1 states that, "when the 

 horse is five years old or older, the maximum limit of the height can 

 be exceeded by two centimetres, but never more, in order to have a 

 standard of uniformity among army horses." 



Fraudulent Methods. Fraudulent methods to increase the 

 height are employed rather frequently, especially in cases where two 

 horses are presented as mates, or, again, in horses offered at the army 

 remounts which are not up to the required height. 



Under these conditions the seller endeavors to place them in such a 

 position that the hind-quarters are relatively lower than the fore-quar- 

 ters. In the stable, as well as on the exhibition-ground, everything is 

 so arranged that this trick can be easily enough accomplished. When 

 it cannot be done in this manner, the seller augments the height of the 



1 Capitaine Rivet, Guide pratique de 1'acheteur de chevaux, p. 55. 



