1 6 THE MORGAN HORSE 



ally met with, in which the depression is sufficient to warrant their being 

 called hollow or sway-backed. This must by no means be considered a 

 characteristic, many families being entirely free from it, and where it is found 

 it is usually very slight. 



"Where the back is very hollow we think it decidedly objectionable; 

 but for many purposes we think a slight inclination to sway-back may be no 

 disadvantage, especially where the loins are good. Youatt evidently con- 

 siders it a far less serious objection than a tendency to the opposite forma- 

 tion, or 'roach-back'. This inclination to hollow back, where it occurs, is so 

 slight, and is so far from being a characteristic of the family, that it would 

 hardly be deserving of notice were it not for the fact that it has been some- 

 times magnified into a universal, and, of course, hereditary defect. 



"The origin of this mistaken notion may be easily discovered. These 

 horses have been bred in a portion of the country that, until within the last 

 few years, was little visited by travelers, and they were little known to horse- 

 men abroad, except by reports of persons who had visited the country, and seen 

 the ancestors of the family. All the early stallions of the breed lived to a 

 great age, and it was not until their youth was passed, and a numerous pro- 

 geny had borne testimony to their excellence, that they became objects of 

 interest to visitors from abroad. These horses, no doubt, exhibited at an ad- 

 vanced age an appearance of 'hollow back', and due allowance was not often 

 made for the advanced age of the animal ; for, although well known to most 

 breeders, it is a fact not equally patent to a large proportion of those who 

 have a good eye and taste for a fine horse, that old stallions are almost always 

 defective in this respect. The loins and back of the horse, as of the dog, are 

 the first points to show signs of failing in his old age. Another objection that 

 may in some instances be properly urged against individual members of this 

 breed, has, by interested persons, been magnified into a characteristic trait, and 

 that is that they are too low on the withers. This is so far from being the fact that 

 the opposite is the usual formation in this breed, and the great rise of the 

 withers and crest is certainly one of the striking points of the horse at first 

 glance, but the withers are not always as thin as we should like. High, thin, 

 fine-shaped withers, is one of the rarest excellences in the horse,and no breed 

 or family can justly lay claim to anything like universal excellence in this 

 particular. The reason for this may perhaps be found in the fact, that less 

 attention is paid by breeders to this point, as it is far less important than 

 many others. Though excellence in this point undoubtedly assists to give 

 the horse easy and safe action, yet the race-horse is very often defective in 

 this respect. Eclipse was remarkable for his extremely low shoulders, and 

 many other horses distinguished for their performances on the turf have ex- 

 hibited the same defect. The mane and tail of Morgan horses are sometimes 

 heavy and often curly, but in most cases they are only moderately so. The 

 general color of these horses has been much mistaken by those who are but 

 slightly acquainted with them. It has often been supposed, and is by many be- 

 lieved to this day, that all genuine Morgans are bay, with black legs, manes 



