STBUCTURAL EXAMINATION 21 



the lightness with which they speed over pavements, com- 

 bined with the rapidity with which they can reach their 

 speed, the pacer has become very popular among city road 

 riders. 



77. Structural Examination. 



Thus far the features that enter largely into the general 

 appearance of the horse, the form, quality and action, have 

 been considered, but in addition to these qualities there are 

 numerous details of structure and soundness which have a 

 predominating influence on the value of any of the classes 

 that have been discussed. Not only must horses of the 

 classes described prove sound to be of service, but to sell 

 well they must also show the strength of structure that 

 wards off the possibility of any urysoundness developing in 

 the future. A badly constructed hock without a curb may 

 depreciate the value of the horse fully as much as a curb 

 present on a strong and well formed hock. The first does 

 not have a curb solely because it has never been subjected 

 to a strain, while the curb in the latter instance must have 

 been due to stress of more than common severity. To 

 discuss this division of the subject in detail it will be neces- 

 sary to arrange the material that follows so as to consider 

 the various parts of a horse completely. 



26. Head Straight, Lean. The shape of the head and 

 the countenance of a horse adds greatly to its appearance, 

 and as this is the part which is most frequently observed it 

 becomes of some importance. The line from the ears to the 

 point of the nose as seen from the side should be almost 

 straight. In scanning the photographs of a great number of 

 trotters it will be noticed that nearly all stallions have 

 slight Roman noses while most of the mares have slightly 

 dished faces, a distinction which seems to be characteristic 

 of the sexes. As a rule it will be found that horses of very 

 prominent Roman noses are self willed. Small nostrils are 

 generally associated with this form of nose and as a conse- 

 quence we find in such instances, that the respiratory or 

 breathing organs lack development. The features of the 



