LECTU11ES ON HOUSES. 
63 
imparting, at every step the horse takes, its anti-concussion influ- 
ence to every part of his frame. Watch the long and elastic 
fetlocks of the Arabian or race-horse, as he is cantering upon turf, 
and at every bound he makes will the tufts of hair from those 
joints be seen dipping upon the ground ; though, while the animal 
is standing still, they may be some inches even removed from the 
surface. Nothing can evince more beautifully and plainly than 
this the movements of the fetlock-joints. 
The attaching band or ligament upon which the sesamoids re- 
pose in their descent, and depend for their re-ascent, is the suspen- 
sory, And, in order to shew what proportion of the superincum- 
bent weight these bones sustain, or, rather, how insufficient the 
pastern is without their aid to support the burthen, we have only 
to cut the suspensory ligament through : that done, the horse is,dn 
real truth, “ broke down the feet slip forward, and the toes turn 
up, while the fetlocks bend down upon the ground. Not so after 
division of the flexor tendons : we occasionally sever them by way 
of remedy for “ knuckling over,” and all that results is, the enabling 
or forcing the animal to set his heel upon the ground : once divide 
the suspensory ligament, however, and no power left is able to 
maintain the pasterns erect. The suspensory ligament is, there- 
fore, one of the mainsprings of the machine in action — one of the 
chief of those beautiful contrivances, which, while they save the 
leg-bones from being smashed to pieces under the weight and 
shocks they have to sustain at every bound and leap the animal 
makes, insures his rider ease and safety to his journey’s end. 
I have instanced the Arabian and the racer as most strikingly 
shewing the operation of the spring of the fetlock-joint, the limbs 
of horses of high breeding being characteristically remarkable both 
for the length and for the obliquity of their pasterns : other horses 
will evince this springiness in proportion as their pasterns possess 
the necessary length and obliquity, and such as have short and up - 
right pasterns — cart and dray-horses — will possess it in the least 
degree. Why should this be 1 Was not elasticity and defence 
against concussion required in the cart-horse 1 Yes! to a certain 
degree ; but not in like degree with the property of strength : he is 
an animal designed for feats of strength, his movements under such 
performances being tardy ard measured; altogether unlike the 
race-horse, whose movements are required to be airy, and fleet, 
and bounding, with loads of the lightest description upon his back. 
The late Professor Coleman — in his work on “ The Foot of the 
Horse” — has thrown excellent light upon this part of our subject : 
“ While the animal is at rest,” says he, “ and also during motion, 
these (sesamoid) bones sustain part of the weight; and where 
the pastern-joints are long and oblique, the sesamoid bones often 
