80 



JUDGING FARM ANIMALS 





Youatt says 9 t ' every horseman recognizes it as a most 

 serious defect. It is scarcely compatible with speed, and 

 most assuredly not with continuance. Such a horse cannot 

 be ridden far and fast without serious sprain of the back 

 sinews. The reason is plain. The pressure of the ring (a 



ligament ring by 

 which the tendons 

 are held in place) 

 will produce a de- 

 gree of friction in- 

 consistent with the 

 free action of the 

 tendons ; more force 

 must therefore be 

 exerted in every 

 act of progression ; 

 and although the 

 muscles are power- 

 ful, and sufficiently 

 so for every ordi- 

 nary purpose, the 

 repetition of this extra exertion will tire and strain 



them A more serious evil however, remains to be 



stated. "When the back sinews, or tendons, are thus tied 

 down, they are placed in an oblique direction, in which the 

 power of the muscles is exerted with greater disadvantage. ' ' 

 The cannon should be flat and smooth, for any roughness 

 of the bone also indicates a defective condition. Hardness 

 of bone is especially sought here, for not only are the meta- 

 carpal bones of the cannon extremely hard and strong, but 

 the hardness, smoothness and size of the cannon serves as 

 an index of the general quality and condition of the entire 

 skeleton. The tendons which lie back of the bone should 

 be clearly denned and be strongly cord-like and should lie 

 quite parallel with the bone in front. The two back ten- 

 dons may be seen and felt without difficulty for they are 

 hard and cord-like in character, and should appear more 



Fig. 39. "The cannon should be flat 

 and smooth." 



8 The Horse, 1843, New York edition, n.d., p. 2( 



