98 The English Horse. 



well set-on tail, he has often one set on rather low, and 

 but seldom carried ; and instead of well-formed limbs, 

 do we not too often find badly-shaped and weak legs ? 

 His action is not always good all round, nor is his gait 

 always bold and steady. 



There is certainly a considerable alteration in the 

 structure of our horse from his Arabian ancestor. He 

 may be classed as more like the Toorkoman or Persian 

 horse, or the Barb. It is my belief there has been some 

 change in the last thirty years. His shoulders are not 

 generally so well thrown back, nor so long, nor so powerful, 

 his quarters more drooping. This alteration of form gives 

 a longer back and barrel, and perhaps a greater appear- 

 ance of length, but it is not real : the structure is altered 

 for the worse ; the various parts are not so well placed to 

 act with the greatest advantage, and it is contrary to the 

 form of his Arabian ancestor. It is no unfrequent thing 

 to see short, jumped-up, long-legged horses stripped on 

 the course. Many are coarse, others are weedy, some 

 both coarse and weedy, and others positively ugly. If 

 you can notice a horse's back as being long, either his 

 shoulders or his quarters, or both, are faulty : too long a 

 back with good quarters is a sure sign of upright 

 shoulders ; if the shoulders are well placed, but accom- 

 panied by a long back, the quarters are short, or have a 

 wrong direction ; or it may be that a horse with too 

 long a back may have upright shoulders and short 

 quarters. 



I think any one who has examined and docs study 

 attentively our blood stock will allow these changes and 



