Quality. A high degree of excellence in breeding; 

 good blood ; hence, a good horse is one of quality ; a blooded 

 one ; one giving evidence of character in the form and expres- 

 sion of the head, the symmetry of the limbs, and the velvet- 

 like softness of the hair and skin. More specifically quality is 

 shown in the manifest superiority of texture, both of bone and 

 muscle — the bone being compact, not cancellated; the muscles 

 free from adulteration — that is, free from adipose and cellular 

 tissue, fat, etc. Quality is mentally dependant on nerve-tissue, 

 the source of all muscular motion, sensation and intelligence. 

 Quality in individual points embraces a neat, expressive head; 

 a countenance indicative of ability ; neat legs ; strength, with 

 refinement of make ; ample bones ; quality in the tendons ; 

 courage and superior physical power. 



It is tins quality of organism in its greatest perfection which enables 

 the horse to stand up. iinder preparation and training, year and 

 year, profiling by his education and improving with age, that 

 makes the really valuable turf horse. It is a quality more valuable 

 than speed, because whatever measure of speed it possesses can be 

 depended upon and improved. In sliort, it is the quality which 

 distinguishes the thoroughbred from tlie dunghill. Tlie number of 

 heats and races won. and the number of successful years upon the 

 turf, are more reliable lamps by which the breeder may guide his 

 footsteps than the record of colt stakes and mere tests of speed. — 

 Horse Breeding, J. H. Sanders. 



Quarters. Those parts of the body which embrace the 

 fore and hind quarters — the former including the part from 

 the withers and shoulder to the arm ; the latter from the hip 

 and flank to the gaskin, or, in other words, including the 

 entire thigh and haunch. Both quarters should have that 

 fulness and roundness which good judges so much admire in 

 these parts of the horse. The quarters of the foot are the 

 names given to the two sides, or lateral regions of the wall 

 between the toe and heel, and known as the outer and inner 

 quarters. 



Quarter Blanket. A blanket which reaches from the 

 tail to a point just forward of the saddle, and is intended only 

 for street use. 



Quarter Crack; Sand Crack. A crack or fissure, 

 generally extending from the coronet downward, for a variable 

 distance, in the direction of the horny fibers of the foot. 

 Often caused by allowing the foot to grow long and the horn 



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