4 ESSAYS ON HORSE SUBJECTS 



granules, fibres and cells that are only determin- 

 able by means of a microscope. This difference 

 of quality is most easily determinable with re- 

 gard to the element fibres. The fibres that form 

 part of the tissues of an individual of high 

 "quality" are more slender, more compact and 

 tougher than those of one of less "quality." One 

 can appreciate this even with the naked eye, in 

 examining the walls of horses' hoofs. In a horse 

 possessing a fairly high degree of "quality," the 

 fibres which run from the coronet down, in form- 

 ing the basis of the wall, are most palpably finer 

 than in those of the wall of a coarser individual. 

 So with the bone; the elements that combine to 

 form it in a horse of high "quality" are finer and 

 more highly organized than in those of a coarser 

 individual. 



What you find in regard to quality in the bones 

 of an individual, you find pervading all the tis- 

 sues of his organism. You do not find a horse 

 with coarse bone and fine skin, or coarse skin and 

 fine bone. If the bone is fine or has "quality," 

 the muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, hoofs, hair 

 and all the other tissues which enter into his 

 composition are equally fine or are of equal 

 "quality." The "quality" of a horse's bone may 

 be perfect, but undue or disproportionate length 

 or other defective form, or faulty relationship of 

 one bone to another, may make his conformation 



