418 
E. A. A. GRANGE. 
down into the middle of the back as it were. Yet such animals 
are quite liable to produce offspring with well defined withers. 
The back (Fig. I, 7) is that part of the animal extending from 
the withers to the highest part of the croup, a point formed by 
the approximation of processes belonging to the haunch or edge 
bones, the posterior third (approximately) of the back forms the 
loins, or coupling, as it is sometimes called. Some writers de¬ 
scribe the back and loins as separate parts, but it always appears 
to the writer that the latter is only a continuation or part of the 
former, for when we come to 'consider’ roach and hollow backs, 
we find the anterior and posterior part of them so intimately con¬ 
cerned in the peculiar conformation that it is somewhat difficult to 
tell wh^e one begins and the other leaves off; that is the living 
creature, though in the skeleton the line of demarcation is well 
marked,’so much so, that there is good reason for those who pre¬ 
fer to describe them as separate regions to do so. 
In selecting a horse the uses the animal is intended A oi must 
have due consideration before the back is pronounced upon as 
being desirable or otherwise; for instance, a horse with a tolerably 
long back may look well in harness, while the same creature 
would look entirely out of place under the saddle. 
Our experience in saddle horses has led us to piefei those 
with short backs and strong loins with a gentle dip, not sufficient 
to come under the head of hollow back , but enough to do away 
the straight edge appearance. The dip we wish to emphasize 
should be very slight and more apparent as we approach the 
withers. 
Roach-back horses are not desirable for saddle purposes, 
because in them the gait is usually rough, producing a degree of 
concussion upon the rider which is unpleasant, to say the least of it. 
The horse with the hollow back is often graceful in its move¬ 
ments, and on that account is agreeable to ride, but the style of 
conformation is not admired and the deformity is liable to increase 
with age, and more rapidly if weight is applied to its suiface. 
When the back of the saddle horse is short and the loins broad, 
it is well adapted to carrying weight, and its various evolutions 
