TIBIA* 209 



Thigh and Stifle. — The muscles of the thigh should be 

 well developed, so that, when viewed from the rear (Fig. 287), 

 they should leave no unsightly gap between the legs. For 

 speed, the thigh should be comparatively short (p. 138), 

 in which case the stifle will have the appearance of being 

 placed high up on the flank (p. 139). The stifle should be 

 directed well outwards, so that it will have no difficulty in 

 clearing the abdomen, which the peculiar construction of the 

 hock joint that is explained on p. 58, enables it to do. It 

 seems probable that the fact of some '* cow-hocked " (hocks 

 turned in, p. 210) horses being able to show an unexpected 

 turn of speed, is frequently due to this kind of conformation 

 conferring on them increased ability to bring their hind feet 

 well forward. 



Tibia. — Under this term, I wish to include the muscles 

 and tendons between the stifle and point of the hock, with 

 their coverings, as well as the tibia (Fig. 12), which, I may 

 repeat, is the bone that lies between the stifle and hock 

 joint. For speed, the tibia should have a maximum of length 

 (p. 138). It is very long in the hare. 



The Gasktn is one of the most important points by 

 which we may judge of the suitability of a horse for fast 

 work ; for I venture to assert, after a long and careful 

 study of the subject, that it is impossible for a horse to 

 have a really fine turn of speed, unless he has broad 

 gaskins. I may point out that width of gaskin is conferred 

 by length of os calcis (p. 26). We may see from p. 58 

 that the longer the os calcis^ the greater is the mechanical 

 advantage at which the muscles that are attached to the 

 point of the hock, work. I may add, that these muscles 

 agree in length with the tibia, and that the longer they are, 

 the quicker will be the action of the hock in propulsion. 

 The gaskin should not alone be broad, for purposes of 

 speed ; but in all cases its muscles should be well developed 

 (Frontispiece and Figs. 274, 312, 320, 322 and 370). In 

 Fig. 310, the gaskin is poor. 



