FORM. 87 



But a greater evil than this attends a short pas- 

 tern. It is the predisposing cause of navicular 

 lameness, particularly in horses carrying weight, 

 owing to the foot being deprived of that elasticity 

 which a longer pastern affords, and which conse- 

 quently relieves the concussion on the foot coming 

 to the ground in gallopping and leaping, as well as 

 on the hard road. Horses with short, and, conse- 

 quently, upright pasterns, cannot be pleasant to 

 ride, and they seldom stand many seasons'* work. 

 Excess in either should be avoided, but of the two, 

 a hunter is less objectionable, from the extreme of 

 length, than of shortness, in this most material 

 part. 



That the foot of the hunter should be wide, is 

 also obvious to the meanest capacity, independent 

 of its beino: the form most conducive to health. 

 The nature of the ground he. has to travel over 

 requires at times the widest base he can present to 

 it, as a foundation for his great bulk, and thus the 

 farmer carries out his manure upon tender land, in 

 a broad and not a narrow-wheeled cart. Xenophon 

 relates, that certain people of Asia were accustomed, 

 when snow lay deep on the ground, to draw socks 

 over the feet of their horses, to prevent them sink- 

 ing in it up to their bellies ; and we know why an 

 ox sinks less in soft ojround than a horse does. It 

 is because his foot enters it expanded, by means of 

 the division of the hoof, and when he draws it out 

 it is contracted. The foot of the hunter, however, 

 should not be too wide, or it may operate against 

 his speed. 



