EXTERNAL FORM. Cxiii 



dogs, the haunch is large and high, as compared with the 

 shoulder. The same character is seen in the deer and ante- 

 lope tribes ; and yet more in the hare, an animal whose 

 swiftness far surpasses that of the horse, the greyhound, or 

 the antelope, when the relative size of the animals is taken 

 into account. 



Important points in the conformation of the horse are the 

 form of the limbs, and their disposition with relation to the 

 parts with which they are connected. 



The humerus, it has been seen, works into a shallow cavity 

 in the scapula ; and, moving forward on this point as a pivot 

 it describes an arc of a circle, so that the limb is raised above 

 the ground. To admit of this action being performed with 

 the required facility, the scapula should have considerable 

 obliquity, rendering the shoulder what is termed oblique. 

 Further, the humerus should be relatively short, because its 

 function being to move in a circle, the same arc will be de- 

 scribed by a smaller radius as by a larger, and this with less 

 displacement of the parts. Further, when the humerus is 

 too long, the breast is placed too far in front of the fore- 

 limbs, and thus the horse is rendered heavy before. 



The next bones of the limb, forming the bones of the fore- 

 arm, should be somewhat long relatively to the cannon bone 

 below, for the fore-arm being muscular, while the parts lower 

 down are tendinous, its length increases the volume, and, 

 consequently, the power of the muscles subservient to the 

 movements of the limb. Further, the muscles of the fore- 

 arm should be well developed down to the carpus or knee. 

 The elbow or ulnar part of the fore-arm should be long, 

 so as to be adapted to its function of moving the arm, which 

 it does in the manner of a lever. A good size of the elbow 

 is, accordingly, regarded by jockeys as one of the points con- 

 nected with action in the horse. 



The bones of the carpus or knee should be sufficiently large 

 for the attachment of muscles, so that the knee shall appear 

 broad when seen from the front. 



