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CHAPTER XXI. 



ACTION, HANDINESS AND CLEVERNESS. 



Action. — General Remarks on Action. — The three chief 

 requisites of action, from a useful point of view, are : sure- 

 footedness, effectiveness, and Hghtness, so that the Hmbs may 

 not unduly suffer from the effects of concussion. As remarked 

 many years ago by Dr. Carson, the safety of a horse's action 

 depends on the way he puts his feet down, rather than on 

 the manner in which he picks them up. We should, there- 

 tore, from this point of view, attach no value to high action, 

 beyond what is sufficient to enable the animal to avoid striking 

 his toes against any inequalities which may be on the surface 

 over which he is going. The stability of the fore limb, when 

 the foot comes on the ground, depends, to a great extent, on 

 the knee being kept straight, which is mechanically done, 

 without the expenditure of muscular force, if a line drawn 

 from the heel to the centre of the elbow joint, falls at that 

 moment, in front of the centre of the knee joint. The more 

 upright the pastern, the further will this line be drawn back as 

 regards the position of the knee. As the shoulder-blade and 

 pastern are at opposite ends of the column of bones of the 

 lore limb, and as they both slope in the same direction ; 

 it follows that the degree of slope of the shoulder will 

 intluence that of the pastern. Hence, for safe action, we 



