CHAPTER XIX 



GROWTH, DECAY, AND DEATH 



Growth. — The young of the herbivora very rapidly shake off 

 the helpless condition in which they first find themselves in this 

 world. This is largely due to the fact that they are born with a 

 nervous system in a high state of development ; in the course 

 of a few hours they learn to stand and walk, and in a day or two 

 can skip and run. The young animal, moreover, is born in full 

 possession of its senses, such as sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste, 

 and with an amount of intelligence which nearly, if not quite, 

 equals that of its parents. It has practically nothing to learn 

 but obedience to man. Not only is the nervous system in an 

 advanced condition, but also the locomotor. The legs of the 

 foal are remarkably long, some of the bones being nearly their 

 full length, though, of course, not their full weight ; such joints 

 as the knee and hock have very little to grow. We can understand 

 the reason of this development of the limb from what has been 

 said above, while the length of leg in the foal is undoubtedly 

 for the purpose of enabling the animal to reach the mammary 

 gland. The limb, however, is only partially developed ; from 

 the knee and hock to the ground it is nearly the length of the 

 adult ; from the knee to the elbow and the hock to the stifle 

 it is decidedly below the adult ; whilst from the elbow to the 

 withers, and the stifle to the croup, the body has a consider- 

 able amount to grow. It has been said, and the statement 

 appears to be true, that the future height of the foal may be 

 ascertained by measuring the fore-limb from the fetlock to the 

 elbow and multiplying it by two. 



The hind-quarters of the foal are in a more advanced state 

 of development than the fore : the shoulders are very oblique, 

 the chest contracted and shrunken-looking, and neither contains 

 much muscle. The oblique position of the scapula is due to the 

 weight of the body on the limbs, the weakness of the muscles 

 at this part allowing the angle formed by the scapula and humerus 

 to be considerably closed, and the shoulder-joint to bulge. The 



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