13 STRUCTURES OF THE BODY. 



muscle, tendon and ligament, as well as of bone, is better in 

 some horses than in others ; the great factors in producing 

 strong tissue appearing to be : heredity ; residence in a 

 dry, warm climate; ''hard'' food; exercise; and Eastern 

 blood. 



Ligaments. — The ends of the bones that form joints 

 are held together by white ligaments, which are similar in 

 structure to tendons ; but, unlike them, they serve to connect 

 bones with bones, and, in a few cases, bones with tendons. 

 They have no direct connection with muscles. There are, 

 also, yellow ligaments, which, being elastic, aid in supporting 

 weight without fatigue to the animal. 



Connective Tissue. — The skin, which covers and 

 protects the body, is largely composed of a strong, fibrous 

 structure called connective tissue, which, proceeding inwards 

 from the skin in the form of, more or less, thick layers and 

 bands, furnishes a supporting network for the component parts 

 of the other tissues. Thus, if we compare a slice from the 

 under-cut of a sirloin of beef with one from a round of beef, 

 we shall see that the relative coarseness of grain of the latter 

 is due to the thickness of the layers of connective tissue 

 which run through it As connective tissue has only the 

 passive action of support, I need hardly say, that the coarser 

 in grain a muscle is, the less powerful will it be ; although it 

 will be better able to resist the effects of external violence 

 than one of finer grain. The protective duty of connective 

 tissue, as regards muscles, may be readily inferred from the 

 fact that the less exposed muscles are to injury from with- 

 out, by reason of their position, the less connective tissue do 

 they contain. This tissue, also, forms ligaments and ten- 

 dons, and ensheathes bones, cartilages, nerves, etc. There is 

 always a large amount of it immediately underneath the skin, 

 in the form of loose fibrous sheets, as we may see in the dead 

 animal The presence of a great quantity of it in this 

 position will, naturally, cause the underlying parts to be ill- 



