CAEE AND MANAGEMENT OP ANIMALS 815 



any other part of the body, and it is desirable this should 

 be borne in mind, as alteration in saddles suitable for some 

 are quite unsuitable for others. 



The "weakest form of back a horse can have is one which 

 is hollow. Such formation of spine is associated with a very 

 high razor-like wither, and animals of this shape are very 

 easy to ride ; but for carrying weight they are useless, 

 while it is the back most liable of all others to injury. 



The next objectionable shape is one that is long, not 

 only in the back but also the loins ; length means loss of 

 weight-carrying power, and in such backs the muscles are 

 small and ill developed, and the back is narrow in its trans- 

 verse diameter. 



The best back is a short one, not so short as to give 

 insufficient room for the saddle : the shortness must be in 

 the loins ; the shorter the loin the wider it becomes, and 

 width of loin means short, plump, well-developed muscles 

 and implies carrying power. 



All backs must have width ; their width is due to rib 

 curvature ; if the ribs are straight instead of being curved 

 there is nothing for the saddle to rest on. The saddle rests 

 on the ribs from the 8th to 17th, and the curvature of rib 

 now being described is least at the 8th and greatest at the 

 17th. A horse is narrower in front than behind, great 

 width of chest for a saddle horse is undesirable, for it 

 means loss of speed, but sufficient width is essential. It 

 is on the curvature of the last nine ribs that the saddle 

 rests ; it should never rest on any part of the spine, nor on 

 the loins. 



Figs. 202 and 203 show a vertical section through the 8th 

 and 17th bones of the dorsal vertebrae ; the dotted lines show 

 where the pannels of the saddle should rest. 



It is obvious from what has been said that the make and 

 shape of a back greatly influences the production of injury; 

 it is just as important for a saddle horse that the back 

 should be of good shape, as that the limbs should be. 



It is perfectly impossible for the spinous processes of the 

 vertebrae to carry weight no matter how slight ; the pressure 



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