574 A HISTOET OP THE PERCHEEON HORSE 



breast. I want my horse to be heavy through the 

 shoulders, deep through the heart, with a short 

 back, well-sprung rib, and good length of rib, so 

 as to give a deep middle. One should always buy 

 a horse with a big chest and should never select 

 one that is not short-coupled and heavily muscled 

 over the loin ; he should be wide and heavily muscled 

 over the croup, thighs, and in the haunches, and 

 should be massively muscled in the stifles. I prefer 

 to have the croup slightly drooping rather than too 

 straight ; horses that are very straight in their croup 

 are inclined to be narrow through the stifle and 

 thighs. The underpinning receives close attention, 

 as I want my horses to stand squarely on their legs 

 from front, side and rear. The pasterns should not 

 be too straight, nor do I want a horse that is down 

 too much on his pasterns; a medium slope is desired. 



' ' The feet should be of good size and medium in 

 height. Of the high-walled foot and the low-walled 

 foot I prefer the high-walled foot, although I like 

 to have a happy medium between the two. The 

 foot that is low-walled is apt to be flat and wide- 

 spread at the heels, and such feet go to pieces al- 

 together too rapidly in city service. 



"A sickle hock or a curby-formed hock is ex- 

 tremely undesirable and should be avoided under all 

 circumstances, particularly in heavy geldings, be- 

 cause the heavy pulling that must be done is sure 

 to make such hocks curby. The hock should be 

 wide and clean-cut. I like to have geldings that 

 will measure about I31/2 inches of bone below the 

 hock. They should have heavy bone, with the ten- 

 dons standing well back in the forelegs. A little 

 hair on the legs is not objected to, but very much 

 feather is to be avoided. A little filling in the hocks 

 does not cut the price of a big gelding to any 



