66 ATTITUDES OF THE HORSE. 



apparatus by which they can bear weight without fatigue; 

 their muscles have to obey the law which requires, for the 

 health of muscular tissue, alternate periods of rest and 

 work. Hence, one hind limb is rested by its joints being 

 bent and its heel raised, while its fellow supports the 

 weight of the hind-quarters. When the working hind limb 

 becomes tired, the other one takes its turn of work; and so on. 



When a couple of long-tailed horses are in the open 

 at liberty, they will sometimes elect to stand head and 

 tail together, so that each one by the action of its tail 

 can keep flies off its own hind-quarters, and off the chest 

 and shoulders of its fellow. 



If, while standing still, horses are exposed to inclement 

 weather, they will generally try to turn their hind-quarters 

 towards the direction from which the rain or wind 

 proceeds. 



The fore limbs of the horse are furnished with special 

 fibrous bands (ligaments), which, during rest, take the weight 

 off the muscles that straighten the various joints. I may 

 here remind my readers that these ligaments are composed of 

 hard, inelastic, fibrous tissue, and act simply as strong cords 

 in connecting the parts together. The work they do being 

 entirely of a passive nature , they do not get tired, like mus^ 

 cles, the work of which is of an active form, and cannot be 

 continued without suitable intervals of rest. As an instance 

 of this ''bracing" function of ligaments, I may mention that 

 the fetlock is passively supported during rest (taken in a 

 standing position) by an inelastic fibrous cord, which goes 

 behind the fetlock point, and is attached by one end to the 

 head of the cannon-bone, and by the other to the base of the 

 pedal bone. Not alone are the fore legs provided with these 

 special ligaments, to prevent the limbs from '' doubling up ; " 

 but most of the muscles which straighten these limbs duringf 

 work are composed of a large amount of ligamentous fibres. 

 Such muscles, therefore, during their periods of rest, can 

 assume to some extent the functions of ligaments. In fact, 

 one powerful muscle in the fore leg of the dog is represented 



