JUDGING HORSES OF LIGHT HARNESS TYPE 137 



ditions of bearing burdens and the experience of training, 

 the horse with the light, oblique blade has less concussion 

 of fore limb and is able to stand long and severe effort 

 better than the horse with upright blade. Thickness or 

 fullness of shoulder in its upper part, especiallj^ about the 

 withers, is very undesirable. A combination of lightness 

 and obliqueness secures the most perfect action. Hayes 

 states that he has seen many sprinters with upright shoul- 

 ders, but he has never seen a genuine stayer, such as Or- 

 monde, St. Gatien, or Robert the Devil, with that kind of 

 conformation. There is no controversy among light horse 

 critics as to the significance and value of the light, oblique 

 shoulder. Among draft horsemen, however, there is more 

 tolerance for the upright position. The light harness judge 

 should emphasize this matter of desirable shoulder con- 

 formation. 



The arms and forearms of the light harness horse should 

 be reasonably muscular. The heavy muscularity of the 

 draft horse is not looked for, but a wide, firm covering here 

 is desirable. In producing great speed, it is necessary that 

 the muscles back of the forearm be strongly developed, as 

 they are brought into active play in raising the foreleg. 



The knees of the light harness horse should possess the 

 same desirable qualities to be found in the draft horse, 

 though the conformation will be less gross and more 

 sharply defined. 



The cannons of the light harness horse are rarely fleshy, 

 being simply the combination of bone, tendon, ligament 

 and skin, with flesh or muscle reduced to a minimum. A 

 short, clean, smooth cannon, with the tendons carried well 

 back, and parallel with the bone, are prime features of the 

 horse with rapid gait. Roughness of bone is easily noted 

 in this type, and is an evidence of weakness. Long cannon 

 bones are undesirable, for they lack the strength of the 

 shorter ones. Further, as a rule, the horse of greatest 

 speed-producing power has a short rather than long can- 

 non. Horse critics often emphasize the point that the 



