26 JUDGING LIGHT HORSES 



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

 appearance 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 awkward and dangerous. 



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

 portant 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 

 accumulates 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 forming the projection at the back of the knee, should 

 be sharp and prominent, for to this some of the most im- 

 portant muscles of the fore leg are attached. Breadth is 

 desirable in such joints, because of the fact that the con- 

 cussion is more evenly distributed, 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. 



40. Pasterns Sloping, Strong. The pastern should 

 stand at an angle of 45 degrees with the ground, and with 



