514 Brcedinf) and Management of Iloraea on a Parm. 
The chest of the mare should be roomy in proportion to her 
breed ; for it must be remarked that this part is generally found 
wider and wider the more the breed approximates to that of the 
cart-horse. A horse with a very broad forehand is rarely gifted 
with any very considerable degree of speed, and consequently such 
.'t formation is undesirable in the horse destined for quick work. 
To give room, however, for the play of the heart and lungs, it is 
absolutely requisite that there be great depth of body, and con- 
siderable girth immediately behind the shoulders, and that the 
ribs be well arched — a flat side being a decidedly bad point in 
either horse or mare. 
The fore-legs, from the elbow down to the knee, should be 
clothed with extremely well-developed muscles, projecting con- 
siderably at the fore-arm, and gradually diminishing towards the 
knee, which, with the pastern, and, indeed, every other joint of the 
body, should be large, for the purpose of giving insertion or play 
to the various ligaments and tendons that are inserted into or near 
them. The size of the joints is a matter of very considerable 
importance, although frequently overlooked by many who judge 
of a horse's bone by spanning the shank — a part which, although 
requiring development for the insertion of the muscles of the leg, 
is by no means of so great consequence as the expansion of the 
joints. From the knee to the fetlock the fore-leg should be flat 
laterally ; an appearance that is principally to be derived from 
the strength and position of the back sinews rather than from any 
unusual quantity of bone, which in the blood-horse is known to be 
heavier and much less porous than in the horse of inferior blood. 
The tendons in their passage at the back of the knee should never 
be contracted or too closely tied down by the ligamentous expan- 
sions over the joint, otherwise their power and freedom of action 
will undoubtedly be thereby considerably diminished. A mode- 
rately long pastern-joint, not too upright nor yet sloping too much 
forwards, should gradually expand in its descent into a well-formed 
hoof, perfectly smooth, and, if possible, black (for black hoofs are 
the hardest), and free from contraction of either quarter, or disease 
of any kind whatever. There are few points in a horse that re- 
quire greater experience and more practical judgment than a 
knowledge of the proper formation and diseases of the foot; and, 
consequently, every horse-breeder should make himself thoroughly 
acquainted with the natural form and defects of this all-important 
part ; for although a horse with bad shoulders, or even legs, may 
be made to go a certain pace, one with bad and crippled feet never 
can; and diseased feet will besides materially diminish the value 
of a stallion or brood-mare, since no one in his senses will use 
them for the stud. I shall have something to say by-and-bye re- 
specting the proper management of the feet, their diseases very 
