SHORT BACK RIBS. 189 



SHORT BACK RIBS. 



This formation, or malformation, is frequently 

 objected to by those whose only cause of objec- 

 tion is not the fault itself, but the horse ap- 

 pearing light in the carcase, which horses thus 

 formed (in working condition) must necessarily 

 be. I most decidedly object to such horses also, 

 not from being light in the middle, but from 

 w\anting that length of rib, and corresponding 

 supporting muscle requisite for strength, wdiere 

 strength in the horse is particularly required, 

 namely, under and beyond the cantle of the 

 saddle. I have said, I do not object to light 

 bodied horses ; nor do I ; but wdiat I mean by 

 being light is merely absence of intestinal pro- 

 trusion, that is vulgarly termed Belly ; the 

 deeper the horse is in the brisket or ribs the 

 better, provided the carcase is round and hand- 

 some. 



Horses with short back ribs are often speedy 

 ones, and are well enough for a mile race-horse : 

 but they are more or less unfit for weight. The 

 fatigue this occasions is probably the cause 

 why such horses are apt to be bad feeders: by 

 bad, I mean cannot be got to eat enouo^h between 

 one hunting, or hard day's work, and another. 

 Such horses are a great pest. Let horses that 

 are delicate eat when they will, and when they 



