Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 457 



Legs. — Length of leg is necessary for speed, yet there should be 

 proper proportion between length of leg and size of horse. A shallow 

 body set up high on very long legs is not a good type. The arm should 

 be muscular, and carried well forward, while the forearm should be 

 long and muscular, with a nice tapering to the knee. This provides 

 room for the long muscles associated with speed. The knees must be 

 clean, bony, straight, broad, deep, and strongly supported. The 

 cannons should be broad, with large, clean tendons set well back from 

 the bone. Straight, wide fetlock joints and strong, sloping pasterns 

 of good length are very necessary. The fore leg must be straight, and 

 the toe should point directly forward, to insure trueness of action. 

 A long, muscular gaskin is an important requirement. This brings 



Fig. 174. ^The light-harness horse in action. The Harvester 2:01, former 

 champion trotting stallion, driven by Ed Geers. Owned by C. K. G. Billings of New 

 York. 



the hocks far below the point of the buttock, which is essential in 

 securing speed. Clean hocks that are wide, deep, straight, with promi- 

 nent point, and well supported below are very necessary. The hind 

 legs must be set straight, with the toes pointing straight ahead. 

 Sickle-shaped hind legs are rather too common. 



Feet. — The best of feet are necessary. Although this type is 

 usually afforded an easy footing, nevertheless the tremendous concus- 

 sion puts the feet to severe strain when the horse travels at speed. At 

 high speed, a stride of 19 or 20 feet is attained. Imagine the force of 

 the concussion when a 1,000-pound horse strides 20 feet in less than 

 half a second, as is the case when the horse is trotting at a two-minute 



