GENERAL EXAMINATION 35 



The leg below the cannon should be flat, the bone should 

 feel firm and the tendons should stand out distinctly from 

 the bone. There should be such a feeling about the bone 

 of the legs as to warrant the assumption that it is of a fine, 

 firm texture. If you will compare the texture of a piece of 

 hickory wood with that of tamarac or larch, which differ 

 markedly in their relative strength, the difference which 

 exists in the bone of horses will be made clear. Although 

 a horse has never been known to break its leg in this region 

 by severe exertion yet the importance of strength of bone . 

 in these parts is of high value, not simply because of its 

 wearing quality but also largely for what it indicates. It 

 will be found that in the instance of a horse that has what 

 is generally known as flat, clean bone with hard defined 

 joints, its endurance is double that of a horse showing the 

 opposite quality. In those breeds which have hair on 

 their legs or ''feather" as it is sometimes called, the qual- 

 ity of the hair is an . index to the nature of the bone. 

 Coarse, porous bone, and coarse skin are associated and the 

 latter gives rise to coarse hair; while on the other hand 

 fine, silky hair is accepted as an indication that the bone 

 is of close and hard texture. The mistake sometimes made 

 of considering small bone a characteristic of quality should 

 be guarded against as this is a very detrimental feature in 

 a draft horse. In heavy horses the important considera- 

 tion is to secure as close a combination as possible of 

 quality with substance and weight. 



58. Action Straight, Regular. The common working 

 pace of the draft horse is the walk and for this reason it 

 deserves prominence. In its sphere the draft horse is only 

 at times urged beyond a walk so that it becomes a very 

 important attribute of this horse to be a good walker. In 

 criticising the walk of a draft horse, the action should be 

 noted from three points of view before, behind and from 

 the side. In approaching, the horse should carry his head 

 high and the stride should be regular. The feet should be 

 lifted clear of the ground and placed down evenly as if in 



