i8o THE FORE LIMB, 



own Structures ; (3) to presei-ve the stability of the body ; 

 (4) to propel the body forward or backward ; and (5) to raise 

 the fore hand. 



To support weight, the horse requires bones and muscles 

 strong in proportion to the nature and amount of work to be 

 done, a more or less straight condition of the bones, and a 

 shoulder-blade sufficiently large for the muscles which attach 

 it to the trunk, and whose size is a measure of their strength. 

 The comparative straightness of the column of bones will be 

 largely affected by considerations of propulsion and of the 

 effect of work on the legs. In all cases, the bones at the 

 knee should be straight. 



To resist the injurious effect of ^^ work " on its structures^ 

 the bones of the shoulder and pastern (at each respective end 

 of the limb) should be placed obliquely, if the ground be 

 hard, so as to diminish the injurious effects of concussion, 

 which are seen in, for instance, navicular disease, laminitis, 

 rmgbone, wind-galls, sore shins and splints. The obliquity, 

 however, will be obtained at the expense of mechanical 

 advantage. Hence, the softer the ground and the slower the 

 pace ; the less sloping need the shoulder and pastern be, to 

 avoid the injurious effects of concussion. 



To preserve the stability of the body, we require sloping 

 shoulders and sloping pasterns, both of which aid in raising 

 the fore hand. With sloping pasterns, the danger of catching 

 the ground with the toe is reduced ; for the more oblique the 

 pastern, the easier will it be for the horse to bring his heel 

 first on the ground at each step. 



To propel the body forward to the best advantage, we 

 require a humerus n6t much removed from a horizontal 

 position ; for the pushing force derived from the fore limb 

 takes place throug^h that bone. Also, in propulsion, the 

 muscles which bend the fetlock joint will act best, the more 

 upright isl the pastern (p. 57). I need not say anything here 

 about backward propulsion, as it has but little bearing on 

 conformation. I have made some remarks on reining back 

 in Chapter XII. (p. 99). 



