116 
THE HORSE.-NO. 4. 
1 
around some slender branch, which soon groans 
beneath the load that bends it down—then comes 
the new hive—a sudden shake of the branch—the 
animated mass falls alongside—they enter—the 
work is done ! T. B. Miner. 
Ravenswood, L. I., February, 1847. 
THE HORSE.—No. 4. 
We now take up the consideration of those parts 
of the frame of the horse which constitute his 
moving force, and give him his power. Although 
not in all instances determining his salable value, 
yet, in certain kinds of horses, these parts entirely 
do so. The muscles of the shoulders, back, quar¬ 
ters, and legs, are the means of motion, and these 
may all be perfect for this purpose, and the horse 
superior in his paces, and yet be very plain. Great 
moving power will not give beauty, for beauty and 
power are not necessarily connected, though beauty 
may mould the muscles to admirable figure and yet 
not detract from power. The horse for the coach, 
for show, parade, must possess style and gaiety; 
the trotter and racer need not; the sportsman only 
asks great muscular power to give rapid movement, 
and style and airiness, or lofty action, are nothing 
to him—the beautiful garran is worthless—the 
plain trotter, or racer, that will outpace and out¬ 
last competitors, almost priceless. If to great 
power, the horse add beauty, his price will be com¬ 
mensurate to his double excellence. We treat of 
the shoulder first. 
The Shoulder. 
The shoulder-blade lies on the side of the chest 
in front, and is narrow and roundish at its lower, 
and flat and broad at its upper end. It is divided 
into two parts on its outer surface by a projecting 
ridge running nearly its whole length. This ridge 
gives additional strength, while it adds but little 
weight, and affords increased surface for the attach¬ 
ment of muscles. The upper part, for the reason 
that no muscles are attached to it, is mere cartilage, 
although in old horses it sometimes becomes bone. 
The point of the shoulder lies opposite the first and 
second ribs; the rear part of if extends as far back 
as the seventh rib, and of course the shoulder is 
oblique along the chest, running backward and up¬ 
ward. 
The shoulder-blade has no bony union with the 
chest, but is connected by muscle alone. Had it 
been otherwise, the vital parts, the heart and lungs, 
must have had a different construction to withstand 
the shocks to which they would be subjected ; and 
indeed, even the bones themselves would not be of 
sufficient strength to remain unbroken. There is 
one muscle, called the great saw-shaped muscle, 
with very remarkable tendinous fibres, and of im¬ 
mense strength, attached to the chest and to the 
extensive smooth inner surface of the shoulder- 
blade, and which, assisted by the muscles of the 
breast, supports the body, and sustains the shock 
of the greatest leap or most rapid motion. The 
muscles within the shoulder-blade act as powerful 
and safe springs. They yield, as far as necessary, 
to the force impressed on them, and by their gra¬ 
dual yielding destroy the violence of the shock of 
motion, and by their elastic power immediately re¬ 
gain the natural position. The shoulder blade and 
the lower bone of the shoulder (e and m , fig, 11), 
are not connected together in a straight line, but 
form an angle with each other, and in the manner 
that the bones of the quarter and thigh are joined 
(same cut). This angular union of the bones of the 
shoulder and the quarter is similar to the arrange¬ 
ment of carriage springs, and gives the same ease 
of motion, and freedom from jolting. By this ad¬ 
justment of the bones of the shoulder, and their 
muscular connexion with the chest, the shock 
arising from the weight of the body being thrown 
on the fore legs, is lessened or entirely broken. 
The obliquity which this angularity of the junc¬ 
tion of the bones gives, serves a variety of pur¬ 
poses ; one is to give the power of extension, and 
the greater the extension the greater the ground 
covered, and the faster the pace. Hence it is, that 
for rapid motion, a great obliquity is necessary; 
another is, that it places the fore legs further forward 
and secures a better balance, rendering the horse 
less liable to stumble. But these we do not propose 
to discuss here, as it will be more proper at another 
stage of the subject. This obliquity, as it lengthens 
the blade, furnishes more space for the attachment 
of muscles, and this gives greater power. Had the 
shoulder-blade been upright, it must have been 
shorter, and there would have been less room for 
muscular attachment, and of course less muscular 
ower. The muscles of the shoulder extend and 
end the leg in progression, and their power will be 
the greater if they be greater themselves; the ob¬ 
liquity of the shoulder secures this greater muscular 
means. Not only is greater power obtained, but 
greater security in the union of the shoulder-blade 
to the chest, by reason of the greater muscular at¬ 
tachment. 
At the union of the shoulder-blade with the 
lower bone of the shoulder, there is a bony projec¬ 
tion, called the point of the shoulder; it is round 
and blunted. The fig. 11, in February number, will 
show it, at, in front of, and above m. The neck of 
the shoulder-blade there forms a shallow cavity, into 
which the head of the lower bone is inserted. This 
cavity is shallow to allow of extensive motion. As 
the bones are those of motion peculiarly, and their 
motion necessarily connected with that of each other, 
a shallow cavity also lessens, or perhaps entirely 
prevents, dislocation. A ligament, extending round 
the heads of both bones, confines them securely in 
their joint together. If this joint should be dislo¬ 
cated, it would be impossible to reduce or put it in, 
as the ligament and the muscles of both bones are 
so very strong. 
The Muscles of the Shoulder. —We proceed now 
to the discussion of the muscles of the shoulder 
and fore leg. All the muscles are in pairs, on each 
side of the horse, and what is said of one applies 
to both. 
At the top of the shoulder there is a muscle 
(called by anatomists trapezius, and seen at a and b 
in fig. 26), which is attached to the projecting 
bones, which form the withers. Its union with 
these nones is very broad and strong. It also is 
united to the ligament and the muscular expansions 
of the neck (called fasciae). It grows narrow as it 
proceeds downward, and is inserted on to a tubercle 
(or point of fastening) on the ridge of the shoulder- 
