THE HIND LIMB. 231 



that the force of propulsion may be transmitted to the body 

 with but Httle mechanical loss. The pastern and hoof of the 

 hind quarters are naturally more upright than those of the 

 forehand, and, consequently the muscles which bend them, 

 act to greater mechanical advantage. 



We have seen in Chapter VIII., that for the attainment 

 of high speed, the horse should possess the fullest ability to 

 bend and extend the hind limb. Hence the beauty, in the 

 race-horse, of a " straight dropped" hind leg. As this power 

 chiefly depends on the action of the hock, I shall defer its 

 further consideration, until I come to that joint. 



On page 162, I have remarked that the desirable pro- 

 portions for the bones of the limb are : pelvis, long ; thigh, 

 short ; tibia (from stifle to hock), long ; cannon, short ; and 

 pastern, long. 



The sets of muscles which move the joints of the hind 

 limb, appear to complete their respective actions, in suc- 

 cession, from above downwards, namely : the hip-joint 

 first ; then the stifle ; and, finally, the hock and fetlock ; the 

 former being extended by the muscle that bends the latter. 

 We may infer that to be effective in the production of speed, 

 these actions must increase in rapidity in the same order. 

 As the muscles that " start " the weight at each step, are 

 those which extend the hip-joint, we must look for, in the 

 cart-horse, special muscular development of the croup and 

 thigh. In the race-horse, however, length and power of the 

 muscles of the gaskin, which cause acceleration of speed at 

 the end of the "stroke," should be particularly sought for. 

 These deductions, I may remark, are in accordance with the 

 nature of the conformation, respectively exhibited by horses 

 that are the representative types of the two classes. 



