CHAP. I.] IN THE WALK, TROTTING, RACING. S3 



by the fore one, falls short of the mark. — These 

 never turn out fast ones, although their fault does 

 not always consist in the shape or disproportion 

 of the bones, but in the contraction of muscle or of 

 the tendon (see this tendon described under the 

 head of " Foot"); at times it is owing to the 

 relaxation of the immediate coverings of the 

 bones, described at Section 16. Such horses may 

 be well enough to look at, but cannot perform 

 properly. The extreme of this misfortune is termed 

 stringhalt ; but every approach towards it, however 

 trivial, is good cause for rejecting the animal. In 

 case of the hind foot coming too far forward (in the 

 walk still) and striking the fore one, the fault lies in 

 want of sufficient strength (or quickness) in the fore 

 leg. If the hind foot comes down sometimes inside 

 at others outside the just-quitted situation of the 

 fore foot, the animal has a disagreeable rolling in 

 his gait from side to side, the fault being as often in 

 the fore leg as the hinder one, sometimes in both. 

 Such horses commence a journey with much ap- 

 parent confidence, but tiring soon, they fall into 

 their old error, and the security they have inspired 

 is found to be deceptious : — many accidents are the 

 consequence. This fault I hesitate whether to 

 ascribe to the fore leg or the hind one, but it 

 certainly originates in a disagreement between the 

 fixing of the two upon the body, either as to the 

 situation, or want of muscular strength at the place 

 of joining. Such a horse is a stumbler, and when 

 he trots away from us, we can see nearly as much 



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