EXTERNAL FORM. XC1 



ducive to it, and therefore is to be desired in horses of every 

 kind. One may see well the advantages of this form from 

 the coach-box of our heavily-loaded public vehicles, where 

 animals of different conformation are yoked together. While 

 the narrow-loined horses will be seen to be suffering from 

 the combined effects of the rapid pace and heavy load, the 

 broad-loined horses will be observed performing their task 

 with comparative facility. 



With the sacrum commences the part of the horse termed 

 the haunch or quarter, which extends from the sacrum back- 

 wards to the tail, and downwards so far as the larger muscles 

 extend. The upper line of the haunch formed by the sacrum, 

 and part of the caudal vertebrae, is usually termed the croup. 

 The croup has a natural convexity, forming a kind of arch. 

 In certain horses, the croup is much elevated. But this con- 

 formation is not to be desired : it is a usual accompaniment 

 of the hollow back, and is less favourable to speed than if 

 the parts were extended in length rather than in curvature.- 

 In other cases, in place of an elevation, the croup suddenly 

 declines to the tail. This conformation is ungraceful, inju- 

 rious to the breeding-mare by diminishing the size of the 

 pelvis, and less favourable to progression than a horizontal 

 extension of the part. In the highly-bred horse, the croup 

 is so gently curved as to appear nearly straight ; and this is 

 the form which may be regarded as the most symmetrical 

 and perfect. In the larger horses employed for labour, the 

 croup is never so straight as in the horses of superior breed- 

 ing ; but even in them, it is desirable to see an approach to 

 the more perfect conformation. 



The main indications of the power of progression in the 

 horse, as in all swift-footed quadrupeds, are afforded by the 

 posterior extremities, which contain the bones, whose exten- 

 sion backwards, when the foot is placed on the ground, forces 

 the animal forward. We look, therefore, as an essential 

 character in horses of every kind, to the expansion in every 

 direction of the haunch or quarter, understanding by these 



