WITHERS. 167 



'' in the mule, and especially in the ass, the withers are 

 always low ; a conformation which is in accordance with the 

 small development of the paces of these animals." Dealers 

 and others, when ** showing off" a horse which has high 

 withers, not unfrequently endeavour to direct attention to 

 this fact, as a proof of the length and obliquity of the 

 shoulders. I need hardly point out, even to the inex- 

 perienced horseman, that any particular part should be 

 judged, if possible, on its own merits, and not by those of 

 another part, however much excellence in the latter may 

 indicate its possession by the former. 



TAe Height of the Withers is, strictly speaking, that of 

 the spines of the vertebrae of the part and the soft tissues 

 which cover their summits. Their apparent height is the 

 distance they project above the top of the shoulder blades ; 

 although I must confess that k is often difficult to tell how 

 high they are in horses which have very thick withers. 

 Animals that are comparatively high over the croup, appear 

 to have lower withers than those which are high in front, 

 even when we make allowance for any difference that may 

 exist in the length of the spines themselves. The reason for 

 this seems to be that, as elevation of the croup causes the 

 weight of the body to be shifted forward ; such a con- 

 formation tends to depress the body between the shoulder 

 blades, and consequently reduces the distance between them 

 and the top of the withers. 



The Width of the Withers — constituting '* thick withers '* 

 or ''thin (lean) withers/' as the case may be — depends on 

 their apparent height ; actual thickness of the spines and their 

 cartilages ; size of the muscles of the part ; and the amount of 

 loose tissue about it. Although we cannot expect leanness "of 

 withers in the cart-horse, the presence of whose massive 

 muscles that lie between the trunk and shoulder blades, 

 separates the ends of the latter widely asunder ; still it is 

 a very desirable point in the saddle-horse, as it indicates 

 absence of an excess of connective tissue (p. 12), lightness 

 of fore hand, and height of the withers themselves. Very 



