234 WEIGHT-CARRYING AND STAYING POWER. 



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WEIGHT-CARRYING AND STAYING POWER. 



Weight-carrying Power. — The special points for 

 weight-carrying power are : — 



1. Length and obliquity of shoulder-blade (p. 182 ei seq.). 

 One might be inclined to think that very oblique 



shoulders are not an advantage from a weight-carrying 

 point of view ; for they necessitate the saddle being put 

 farther back on the horse, than would be the case with 

 shoulders of only a moderate slope. At the same time, 

 we must remember that with horses of the same depth of 

 body at the withers, the more oblique the shoulder-blades, 

 the longer they will be. 



2. Strong loin muscles. 



3. Good substance and fine quality of bone. 

 Ormonde (Frontispiece), ''the horse of the century," St. 



Gatien, the dead-heater for the Derby and winner of the 

 Cesarewitch, and Cloister (Frontispiece), were horses of great 

 bone, and marvellous weight-carriers. 



4. Pasterns not too sloping. 



5. Absence of undue weight of body beyond that which 

 would be necessary for the movements of the limbs, and for 

 the performance of the various vital functions. 



The foregoing rules would apply to all classes of horses. 

 For absolute weight-carrying power, the animal should have 

 short legs (a fact which would be incompatible with the 

 possession of speed), and should have his pelvis somewhat 

 drooping. 



