8 JUDGING LIGHT HORSES 



II. JUDGING LIGHT HORSES. 



/. General Exarnhiation. 

 In the general examination of horses, the form, quality and 

 action are the chief features requiring consideration. This 

 examination takes in the horse as a whole, while the struc- 

 tural examination requires detailed criticism of each part 

 independent of others. 



5. Form — The Contribution of Skeleton and Muscle. To 

 be able to accurately estimate the form of a horse, it is neces- 

 sary to understand the extent to which the ^orm is due to 

 the skeleton and how much of it depends on the muscular 

 development. 



A comparison of a skeleton of a horse with a living and 

 well developed animal will show clearly that some parts owe 

 their form to the framework of bone, while other regions are 

 shaped wholly by the muscle. Beginning at the head, it 

 will be noticed that the form of it is determined almost alto- 

 gether by the bones that comprise it. The outlines of the 

 neck, however, are just as distinctly due to the muscular 

 development of that region. The shoulder and chest are 

 outlined in form chiefly by the skeleton though smoothened 

 with muscle. The shape of the leg from the knee upwards 

 to the body is determined by muscles of that region, while 

 from the knee to the fetlock the outline is due largely to the 

 tendons that make the leg at this point appear flat from the 

 side. The common supposition is that the leg appears flat 

 from the side view because the bone is flat, but the fact is 

 the flat appearance is due to the degree to which the tendons 

 stand back from the bone. 



6. Propelling Power Resides in Hind Quarlers. A stud}^ 

 of the degree to which the skeleton and the muscular develop- 

 ment contribute to the form of a horse, brings into promi- 

 nence the idea that most of the power resides in the hind 

 parts. The fact that the greatest muscular development is 

 in that region would indicate this. 



