90 JUDGING FARM ANIMALS 



are for the attachment of the muscles and suspensory liga- 

 ments connecting the head and neck. Other muscles also 

 connect withers and shoulders and back. Withers of promi- 

 nence, extending well into the back, therefore have a more 

 powerful muscular connection than they would have other- 

 wise. In the case of the draft horse it is important that the 

 withers be thick and muscular rather than thin. If the 

 shoulders are powerful and fittingly muscled, then the 

 withers will be in keeping. 



The chest of the draft horse is that portion of the body 

 that lies between and immediately back of the shoulders, 

 between the withers and lower line of body. The breast 

 is that portion of the body which lies directly in front of 

 the chest, and below the neck. The chest should be deep, 

 wide, low and of large girth. Such a conformation indi- 

 cates a strong constitution with ample space for the vital 

 organs; it also is naturally associated with heavy weight. 

 With the horse depth of chest is really more important than 

 thickness, although these two features are associated. The 

 depth through the chest should be somewhat greater than 

 the distance from the under side of this part to the level of 

 the feet. While thickness is desirable, horsemen do not 

 wish too wide a horse, at least not like a fat steer, as fat 

 horses usually have inferior action, going too wide, the legs 

 being too far apart for the most powerful draft. Hayes 

 believes 16 there is no essential difference in the relative 

 thickness of chest in horses of the same depth. He at- 

 tributes the difference in thickness to the pectoral muscles 

 which lie between the humerus and the chest, and states 

 that "it is no rare occurrence to see horses that have been 

 once broad chested, become narrow in front when old and 

 worn out." He, however, agrees to the necessity of thick- 

 ness of chest with the draft horse, on account of his requir- 

 ing massive muscles. In discussing breast conformation, 

 Goubaux and Barriere comment as follows: 17 "Draft 



16 The Points of the Horse, 3d ed., 1904, p. 244. 



17 The Exterior of the Horse, 2d ed., 1P04, p. 146. 



