STUD BOOK. 61 



to produce. We will add, that she must have four 

 good legs under her, and those legs standing as a 

 foundation on four good, well-shaped, large feet, open- 

 heeled, and by no means flat soled. That she should 

 have a good, lean, bony head, small cased, broad 

 fronted, well set on, upon a high, well carved neck, 

 thin at its junction with the head ; high withers, thin 

 shoulders, and above all, long, sloping shoulders. A 

 straight shoulder is an abomination : it renders speed 

 impossible, and gives a rigid, inflexible motion, often 

 producing the bad fault of stumbling. She should be 

 wide-chested, and deep in the heart-place. Her 

 quarters should be strong, well let down, long and 

 sickle shaped above the hocks. It is better that she 

 go with her hocks somewhat too wide apart than too 

 near together — the former point indicating power, the 

 latter, weakness, of a bad kind. It has been shown 

 that a breed mare may — nay, shouhl be considerable 

 longer in the back than one would choose a working 

 horse to be ; but if she be particularly so, it is desir- 

 able to put her to a particularly short-backed and close- 



