THE HEAVY-HARNESS BREEDS OF HORSES 53 
met with in this breed than any other. The body must 
necessarily be deep and round-ribbed, to give that appear- 
ance of substance required, together with the rotundity 
characteristic of the type. A loin swathed in muscles, 
even to the extent of rounding upwards slightly, makes a 
strong, short coupling, which should join smoothly a 
plump rounded and deeply muscled hind-quarter. These, 
with muscular thighs and well-set and strong hocks, are 
derivative of the snappy and propelling hock action 
behind. 
49. The action. — It is in the action of the Hackney 
that the chief merit of the breed for heavy-harness pur- 
poses resides, although this statement is not meant 
to belittle the special type required also. It is styl- 
ish, attractive action, not speed, that is of most im- 
portance. The front feet, in walking or trotting, are 
lifted with snap and spring, and in the trot the foot goes 
forward after being uplifted, as if it were following the 
rim of a wheel. It is not held in the air at any one point; 
that is, the leg is not fully extended when the foot is 
several inches from the ground, but it is still following 
the imaginary rim of a wheel when it reaches the ground 
and is planted firmly. When pulled up, it does not fly 
toward the elbows as if to hit them, but goes up and out 
without any delay in the knee-folding. While the fore 
action is a point of paramount importance, yet it may 
be said that in its hock action for heavy-harness purposes 
the Hackney has hardly a peer. The hock is lifted 
sharply toward the body, and the action is in no sense 
sprawling. Many horses can be made to step high and 
fold the knee, as a Hackney or heavy-harness horse should 
do, but the true heavy-harness hock action is not sus- 
ceptible to artificial imitation. The weakness of most 
