250 ACTION, HANDINESS AND CLEVERNESS. 



should seek for oblique shoulders, sloping and long pasterns, 

 knees in which there is no tendency to "stand over," and 

 lightness of forehand. 



For effectiveness, the action should be the happy medium 

 between a cramped style of going, and one in which 

 command over the limbs is, to a certain extent, lost by the 

 stride being too long. 



By the term lightness of action, I wish to specify well- 

 balanced movements of the limbs, by which undue weight is 

 thrown on none of them, and particularly not on the forehand. 

 The action from a " level" point of view, is influenced by the 

 conformation of the body, and by the carriage of the head and 

 neck. To be perfect at fast paces, we require the animal 

 to be light in front ; to have oblique shoulders and sloping 

 pasterns, so as to have full power to raise the forehand ; 

 and to have good loin muscles. In Chapter X., I have 

 treated of the carriage of the head and neck. In heavy 

 draught we do not require lightness of action, which is the 

 direct opposite of throwing weight into the collar. 



The Walk. — At this pace, like at all others, the shoulders 

 should work with the utmost freedom, and the fore foot 

 should be thrown well to the front and only high enough to 

 clear and cover the ground. We may see this beautiful play 

 of the shoulders to perfection in young thoroughbreds. The 

 hind legs should be swung freely to the front, so that they 

 will considerably overstride the imprints made by the fore 

 feet. Viewed from behind, as well as from the front, the near 

 and off pairs of legs should respectively move in the same 

 line, so that there maybe no "dishing" or crossing of the 

 legs. The hocks should have no in-and-out movement, as 

 may be sometimes seen, and had better work rather close 



