WHAT SHAPE SHOULD A HORSE BE? 121 
main point of beauty in the back is that it be straight, 
neither convex (arched) nor concave (sway-backed). 
9. Croup.—The croup is the region above a line from 
the haunch to the point of the buttock. In draft horses 
this region should be wide, relatively steep and, includ- 
ing the buttocks, heavily muscled. Watch a draft horse 
pull, and it will be noticed that he places his croup in a 
relatively vertical position. This is an aid to power. A 
horizontal croup, on the other hand, is better for speed. 
The legs are longer in a horse of the same height. The 
step is longer while the body is projected in a more hori- 
zontal direction. While relatively steep shoulders and 
steep croup are conducive to power, many draft horses 
are so defective in speed that horses with more sloping 
shoulders and horizontal croup are often preferred. 
10. Hind legs—Can you imagine yourself standing 
upon the end of your middle toe? That is what a horse 
does. Referring to paragraph 5, the pastern j & corre- 
sponds to the toe; the fetlock, j, to the ball of the foot; 
the hock, j, to the heel; the leg, h 1, to your shin bone; 
the stifle, 4, to the knee; while the thigh, g h, is hidden 
beneath a mass of muscles. The thigh is attached to the 
croup at g by a ball and socket 
joint. The hind legs are the great- — 
est agent in pulling. This kind of f 
a joint enables the animal to exert 
more power than would be possi- 
ble if attached only by muscles, as 
in the case of the shoulders. 
11. Cannons.—The front can- 
nons are 9 to 10 inches long, while 
the hind cannons are about two 
z Draft horse with a croup that is 
inches longer. Horses whose too steep even for a draft horse. 
