POINTS OF THE HORSE. 25 



but lie is not very commonly met witli. "Where length below is 

 seen, there is generally too much space between the last rib and 

 the hip, while, on the other hand, coupled with a short back, we 

 too often see the legs all "jumped up together," and the action 

 short and stumpy. Next to these points in the middlepiece it is 

 important to pay attention to the upper line of the back, which 

 should bend down a little behind the withers, and then swell out 

 very gently to the junction with the loins, which can hardly be 

 too wide and muscular. The inexperienced eye will often be 

 deceived by the hips, for if these are narrow the muscles rise above 

 them, and make the loin and back look stronger than they really 

 are, the contrary being the case where the hips are wide and 

 ragged. This latter formation, though not so elegant as the level 

 hip, is prized by the man who wishes to be carried well to hounds, 

 and he will jump at a horse which would be passed over with con- 

 tempt by the tyro as " a great raw-boned brute.'' A slightly-arched 

 loin is essential to the power of carrying weight ; a much-arched, 

 or " hog" back, is almost sure to give uneasy action from its want 

 of elasticity. 



In examining the hind-quarter, so much depends upon the 

 breed, and the purposes to which the animal is to be put, that only 

 a few general remarks can be given. Thus, for high speed, there 

 should be plenty of length in the two bones which unite at the 

 stifle-joint, without which the stride must be more or less limited 

 in extent. The exact position of the hip-joint not being easily 

 detected, the tyro has some difficulty in estimating the length from 

 it to the stifle-joint, but he can readily measure the length from 

 the root of the tail, either with his eye or with a tape, if he cannot 

 depend upon his organ of sight. In a flat outline this will come 

 to twenty-four inches in a horse of fifteen hands three inches, but 

 measured round the surface it will be two inches more. Again, 

 the lower thigh, or gaskin, should be of about the same length ; but 

 if measured from the stifle to the point of the hock, it will be fully 

 twenty-eight inches in a well-made horse of high breeding. These 

 measurements, however, v/ill be much greater in proportion than 

 those of the cart-horse, who requires strength before all things, 

 and whose stride is of no consequence whatever. In him, the 

 length of the upper, or true thigh is generally as great as that of the 

 thoroughbred, but the lower thigh, is much shorter, and the horse 

 stands with a much straighter hind leg, and consequently with his 

 hocks making a very slight angle. Muscular quarters and gaskins 

 are desirable in all breeds ; for without strong propellers, no kind 

 of work to which the horse is put can be duly performed. The 

 judge of a horse generally likes to look at the quarters behind, so 

 as to get a good view of their volume, and unless they come close 

 together, and leave no hollow below the anus, he suspects that 

 3 



