ELEMENTS OF HIPPOLOGY. 107 



intestines, the kidneys, and the various glands whose secretions 

 assist in the processes of digestion. 



It is by the expansion and contraction of the chest that the 

 lungs perforin their function of purifying and oxidizing the blood. 

 The lungs cannot be too big. The chest, to contain large lungs, 

 should be deep, from top to bottom, long from front to rear, 

 and have great convexity. 



The abdomen must also be roomy, but only to a certain 

 extent. If the abdomen is small — "tucked up," as it is called — 

 there will be little room for food to be stored, the horse will be a 

 dainty eater, requiring frequent feeding, and he will be unfit 

 for hard service. If his abdomen is too large, its excessive weight 

 will prevent the horse from being active or fast, and he will be 

 clumsy and unpleasant to ride. A horse possessing the first 

 fault is said to be herring-gutted, and the last men ti'^n'^d, 

 pot-bellied. 



The saddle on the pot-bellied horse is constantly slipping 

 forward to bruise the withers or the shoulders. On the herring- 

 gutted horse it keeps sliding back, to the annoyance of the rider. 



The contents of the abdomen are held in place by the ab- 

 dominal tunic, a very powerful ligament, and by other tendons 

 and muscles. This abdominal envelope should continue the 

 lines of the ribs. The profile of the belly should slope gently 

 downward from the sheath to the girth-place. 



The loins include the six lumbar vertebrae and their mus- 

 cular covering. The region of the loins is commonly known as 

 the coupling. 



If the ribs slope to the rear well, and the loin muscles are 

 thick and strong, the horse is well coupled. For saddle-horses, 

 the coupling should be short and the muscles strong and thick. 



The curve of the profile of the horse's back — from withers 

 to tail — should be, when viewed from the side, smooth and flat- 

 tened (Figure 70). There should be no "jog" (Figure 71) in 

 front of the haunch-bone in horses in good condition. Most 

 Digitized by Microsoft® 



