240 THE HORSE. 



otherwise it cannot diseharg'e all these duties. Horsemen differ on a va- 

 riety of other points, but here they are ag-reed. A full and swelling' fore- 

 arm is the characteristic of every thorough-bred horse, and for speed and 

 continuance he is unequalled. Whatever other good points a horse may 

 possess, it" the arm be narrow in front and near the shoulder, flat on the 

 side, and altogether poor in appearance, that horse is radically defective : 

 he can neither raise his knee for rapid action, nor throw his legs suffi- 

 ciently forward. 



The arm should likewise be long. In proportion to the length of 

 the muscle is the degree of contraction of which it is capable ; and in pro- 

 portion to the degree of contraction in the muscle will be the extent of 

 motion in the part of the limb beneath. A racer, with a short arm, 

 would be sadly deficient in stride ; a hunter, with the same defect, would 

 not be able to double his legs well \mder him in the leap. There is, how- 

 ever, a medium in this, and the advantage of length in the arm will 

 depend on the use to which the horse is applied. The lady's horse, the 

 cavalry horse, every horse in which prancin,g action is esteemed a beauty, 

 and in which utility is, to a certain degree, sacrificed to appearance, must 

 not be too long in the arm. If he be long there, he will be proportion- 

 ably short in the leg ; and although this is an undoubted excellence, whether 

 speed or continuance be regarded, the short leg will not give the grand 

 and imposing action which fashion may require : and, in addition to this, 

 a horse with short legs may not have quite so easy action as another whose 

 leno'th is in the shank rather than in the arm. 



THE KNEE. 



The Knee (M, p. 63, and cut, p. 230) constitutes the joint or joints be- 

 tween the arm and the shank or leg; audit is far more complicated 

 than any joint we have yet considered. Beside the lower head of the 

 bone of the arm, and the upper heads of the three bones of the leg, 

 there are no less than six other bones interposed, arranged in two rows, 

 three in each row, and the seventh placed behind the other, to which an 

 eighth is sometimes added. 



What was the intention of this complicated structure ? A joint between 

 the elbow and the fetlock was absolutely necessary to the action of the 

 horse. An inflexible pillar of that length could scarcely have been lifted 

 from the ground, and certainly could not have been lifted far enough for 

 rapid or safe motion. It was likewise necessary, that the interposing 

 joint shoidd be so constituted as to preserve this part of the limb in a 

 straight direction, and should possess sufficient strength to resist all 

 common work and accidents. Being in a straight direction, the shock or 

 jar between the ends of the bones of the arm and the leg would be 

 dreadful, and would speedily inflict irreparable injury. The heads of all 

 bones are covered with elastic cartilage, to protect them from injury by 

 concussion, but this would be altogether insufficient here. Six distinct 

 bones, then, are placed here, each covered above and below by a thick 

 coating of cartilage, connected together by strong ligaments, but separated 

 by fluids and membranes interposed. The concussion is thus spread over 

 the whole of them — shared by the whole of them ; and, by the peculiarity 

 of their connexion, deadened and rendered harmless. 



These six distinct bones, united to each other by numerous and powerful 

 ligaments, will also afford a far stronger joint than the apposition of any 

 two bones, however perfect and strong might be the capsular ligament, or 

 by whatever other ligaments it could be strengthened. In addition to the 



