26 JUDGING LIGHT HORSES 



straight. When it is so, it gives a horse an upright appear- 

 ance and adds to the latter' s style. 



36. Elbows Free. The space between the leg and the 

 body should permit of easy insertion of the hand. If the elbow 

 is closer than this or tied in, as it is termed, the toes are usually 

 thrown out; or if the opposite is the case, the toes are likely 

 to be thrown in, which makes the action of the horse awk- 

 ward and dangerous. 



37. Fore Arms Wide, Muscled, Perhaps the most impor- 

 tant matter to notice in examining the fore leg is the size of 

 the fore arm, or the muscular development observable just 

 below the juncture of the leg and the body. As fat accumu- 

 lates very little there it is a safe criterion of the muscular 

 development of the animal. 



38. Knees Wide, Deep, Straight. The knees should be 

 broad in front, much broader than the rest of the leg, either 

 above or below, and the pisiform bone, which is the bone form- 

 ing the projection at the back of the knee, should be sharp and 

 prominent, for to this some of the most important muscles of 

 the fore leg are attached. Breadth is desirable in such joints, 

 because of the fact that the concussion is more evenly dis- 

 tributed, and better spent by the many bones forming the 

 joint, when their surfaces are large. The most common 

 defects of the knee are calf knees, knock knees, knee sprung, 

 speedy cut and scars. 



39. Cannons Wide, Short, Large Sinews. There should 

 be very little shrinkage below the knee as the joints require as 

 much support as possible. This defect of being tied in below 

 the knee is one of the most common weaknesses to be seen in 

 the fore legs of light horses. A light horse of common size 

 should measure at least 8 inches at this point. The cannon 

 should be short, wide and clean and the sinews should be 

 back from the bone. It is sometimes noticeable that the 

 cannon is thicker than usual which is generally caused by 

 hard road work. 



