THE HORSE 56 



nically unsound in some respect ; yet they 

 eventually bought a pony which was passed as 

 absolutely sound in Avind, limb, and eye, but which 

 gave them endless trouble and expense owing to 

 a weak and disordered digestion. 



Owing to the iron shoes, the hard roads, the 

 rapid and continuous trotting, and the heavy loads 

 which have to be moved, inflammation is constantly 

 set up in the bones, tendons, or ligaments of the 

 legs. When one considers the unnatural con- 

 ditions under which horses labor, the wonder is, 

 perhaps, that any ever reach maturity without 

 some abnormal condition as the result of " work." 

 It is those points of conformation which centuries 

 of experience have proved to man to be best able 

 to stand work, which are the ones sought for by 

 horse-owners, and a Avell-shaped hock, say, is 

 literally one which is put together in such a way 

 as to be able to stand unaltered the malign in- 

 fluences of violent concussions and sudden strains. 



A cuiious corroboration of the beneficial result 

 of the continual selection of horses with certain 

 points for w^ork has of recent years come to light. 

 In South Africa an endeavor has been made to 

 utilize zebras for harness purposes, but the serious 

 attempt had soon to be abandoned, as they were 



