WHAT SHAPE SHOULD A HORSE BE? 119 
the horse is deaf, or merely that he is lazy. A constant 
movement of the ear may mean that the horse is skittish, 
or it may be that the horse is blind. 
5. The front legs—The fore members of a horse may 
be somewhat puzzling to one who has never seen the 
skeleton of one. Think of your own arm and then locate 
the corresponding region in the horse. Place the end of 
your middle finger upon the desk. Your nail corresponds 
to the horse’s hoof; the pastern, ec f, to your finger; the 
cannon, d c, to the middle bone of your hand; the fore- 
arm, ¢ d, to your forearm; and the arm, D c, to your arm. 
The shoulder blade is shown at ab. The horse does not 
have a collarbone. His shoulders are attached to the body 
by means of muscles, thus giving greater elasticity to his 
movements. 
6. Shoulders.—The shoulders of a trotting horse should 
be long and sloping. They should be long because long 
bones give long muscles. They should be 
sloping, because sloping shoulders give a 
greater elasticity to the movements and be- 
cause they enable the horse to take longer 
steps. They may be steeper in draft horses, 
because, owing to the better position of the 
collar, the horse is enabled to exert a greater 
force. The shoulders should be heavily 
muscled, especially in the draft horse. 
7. Arms.—lIn a draft horse, the arm should = __4” 
be relatively horizontal, while in the trotting Bowes or THe 
horse it should be more vertical. Since the "*™™ 1*° 
arm itself is hidden in a mass of muscle, the position of 
the arm is best determined by examining the position of 
the elbow. The elbow should be relatively high as com- 
pared with the bottom of the chest for draft horses, and 
just the reverse in running and trotting horses. 
