62 ATTITUDES OF THE HORSE. 



CHAPTER X. 



ATTITUDES OF THP HORSE. 



Standing at Attention — Standing Collectedly — Standing at Ease — Caniage 

 of the Head and Neck. 



Standing at Attention. — When a well-shaped and sound 

 horse stands at attention, if I may use the term, he has his 

 head and neck raised, ears pricked forward, the profile of the 

 face at an angle of about 45° to the ground, and at about a 

 right angle to the upper line of the neck (the crest) ; the 

 weight distributed in due proportion on all four limbs ; and, 

 as a rule, the fore foot of one side not so far advanced as its 

 fellow, and its hind foot more to the front than the other 

 hind foot (Fig. 229). If the hind feet be equally advanced, a 

 perpendicular line dropped from the point of the buttock will, 

 on the respective sides, about touch the point of the hock. 

 If one hind foot be placed in front of the other hind foot, 

 the vertical line will, more or less, divide the interval be- 

 tween the points of the two hocks. As the weight of the 

 horse's head and neck is beyond the base of support formed 

 on the ground by his feet ; he would '' stand over " on his 

 fore legs— that is, their direction would be downward and 

 backward — if they were equally advanced (Fig. 321), and if 

 each of the limbs was bearing its share of weight I need 

 hardly say that when one fore leg is advanced more than 

 its fellow, and when it is vertical, the animal will be some- 

 what over on the other fore leg. 



French writers consider that when a horse stands with 

 the weight properly distributed on all his limbs, a line 

 dropped from each point of his buttock will coincide with the 



