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Webster Family Library of Veterinary Medicine
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at
Tufts University
200 Westboro Road

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TWELVE LECTURES

FORM AND ACTION

HORSE.

By WILLIAM PERCIVALL, M.R.C.S. & V.S.

Veterinary Surgeon in the First Life Guards;

Licentiate of the Apothecaries' Company ;

Author of " The Anatomy of the Horse ;" " Hippopathology," Sic.

WITH EIGHT ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL,

BY JOSEPH LAWRENCE, M.R.C.V.S.
H.E.T.C.S.

" La forme du Corps Vivant Iui est plus essentielle que la matiere." — Curler.

LONDON :
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS,

PATERNOSTER ROW.

1850.

COMPTON AND RITCHIE, PRINTERS, MIDDLE STREET, CLOTH FAIR, LONDON.

ADVERTISEMENT.

These Twelve Lectures were originally written for " The
Veterinarian" in which journal they were serially published
in the course of the years 1842-3-4. Additional copies of
them were struck off the press at the time of printing : the
same are now republished in the present form ; the only altera-
tion they have sustained — were, indeed, capable of sustaining —
being the addition of some plates of the figures of horses, the in-
tention of which is, to exhibit, in outline, the different parts com-
posing the exterior of the body and limbs of the animal, to shew
their relative situation and connexion, and to throw some light
on the various movements resulting from their reciprocity of
action. In the absence of any systematic treatise on this com-
prehensive and inviting subject, it is hoped these " Lectures/'
roughly and runningly sketched as they have been, may induce
persons engaged among horses to bestow some reflection and
study on a branch of science which too many are apt to suppose
comes of necessity to them (as it were through instinct) with
the possession of a horse. Moreover, it is conceived that, at
a future day, they possibly may prove useful to some writer
or lecturer about to undertake the exposition of the principles
upon which the science of external conformation, and its con-
sequent action, is or ought to be founded. There being no pos-
sibility of correcting the sheets composing the work now, the
author prefers craving for their errata the indulgence of the
reader to the publication of any — which might be a lengthy —
catalogue of them.

36, Gloucester Crescent, Regent's Park,
August 1850.

CONTENTS

Lecture Page

I. Form and Action (General Observations in regard to) 1

The Skeleton of the Horse 7

The Back and Loins 12

II. TheNeck 17

The Head 20

III. The Body 29

The Chest 29

The Belly 35

IV. The Legs 37

The Fore Legs 41

The Shoulder 43

V. The Shoulder (continued) 52

A Table shewing the relative growths of Horses at certain

Ages 57

The Arm 59

The Knee. 64

VI. The Fore Leg or Cannon 66

The Fetlock 71

VII. TheHindLegs 76

The Haunch and Thigh 82

The Stifle 87

The Thigh or Gaskin 90

The Hock 92

VIII. The Proportions of the Horse 94

The Proportions of Eclipse 100

IX. Action 107

The Muscles 107

Muscular Motion 113

X. The Act of Standing } 120

The Acts of Rearing and Kicking 122

The Act of Leaping 124

XI. Progression 127

XII. The Paces '. 137

The Walk 138

The Trot 144

The Gallop 150

The Canter 157

The Amble 159

LECTURES ON HORSES.

LECTURE J.

FORM AND ACTION.
" A horse ! a horse ! my kingdom for a horse '"

WHEN Richard in the heat of battle made use of this soul-
stirring exclamation, I take it he wanted a horse with form, and
fire, and action, such as England alone, no less perhaps in those
days than the present, could furnish him with. In what other
part of the world could the Hotspur spirit of Richard have been
suited ] or where could he have met with an antagonist well enough
mounted to have required such a steed to oppose him with, save in
Britain ] Exists there in any other country cavalry equal to our
own 1 Can a horse of any foreign breed out-run the English racer I
Acknowledgedly in possession of the finest and fleetest horses in
the world, is a proof — and a pretty convincing one — that our manage-
ment concerning them, in a practical point of view, has attained a
degree of eminence of which we may justly feel proud; and yet
in veterinary and equestrian literature we appear to be behind
France and Germany, and, perhaps, Italy too. We have several
modern books on veterinary medicine — we have some on anatomy ;
but we lack one on what is commonly called " Exterior Conforma-
tion :" this want I propose to use my humble endeavours in the
present lectures to supply.

Animal bodies have been compared to works of art — to ma-
chines and engines of various descriptions. Such comparisons, at the
same time that they manifest their boundless inferiority to their
great prototype, have still had their use in serving to explain
and elucidate the structure and operations of that most curious
and delicate and wonderful of the productions of Nature, — an

2 LECTURES ON HORSES.

animal machine. Simple and uniform, and beautiful in appear-
ance, as are the exteriors of Nature's organic creations, their in-
teriors are in truth, in the sublime language of the psalmist,

" Fearfully and wonderfully made !"

Such is the complexity and intricacy of the animal fabric, that,
notwithstanding men of the greatest sagacity and spirit of research
have, from the earliest ages, laboured in developing and explain-
ing it, there still remain parts of the body whose structure is
concealed in mystery ; and as for the connexion subsisting be-
tween body and mind, anatomists and physiologists of the present
day are hardly more informed than were the metaphysicians of
former ages.

" Through the dis-closing deep
Light my blind way : The mineral strata there
Thrust blooming. Thence the vegetable world,
O'er that the rising system more complex
Of animals, and higher still the mind."

Whenever a man has elaborated any complex or delicate piece
of machinery, in order to preserve it he incloses it in some sort of
case : in this he does but imitate Nature, who has furnished all
her organic productions with complete tunics or cases— some of one
kind, some of another, but all pleasing to view, and most completely
effectual for the purpose of protection against such external agency
as must of necessity be encountered. This covering — commonly
called skin — is that which composes the exterior of the animal. But
Nature does not stop here. In addition to a skin she has given a
sort of clothing to animals: some she has covered with scales, some
with feathers, some with wool, some with hair. From the ob-
servations Lord Byron made in the course of his travels and resi-
dences abroad, he was led to believe that even the hair of the
head of a woman, if suffered to grow to its natural length, would
in time serve as a vesture for her body. Man, in a savage un-
clothed state, would no doubt appear in some such natural pilous
garb as that in which Orson is pictorially represented.

There is not only a difference in the material furnished by Na-

FORM AND ACTION. 3

ture as a clothing for animals, but there is an evident difference in
the quality or texture of the same material, according to the breed
or variety of the species : compare the coat of the cart-horse with
that of the racer, or rather contrast it with the satin dress of the
Arabian, and this difference will at once be manifest. Though
there are, however, these striking and obvious distinctions as re-
gard the species, a great deal concerning texture or quality of coat
depends upon climate, soil, domestication, &c.

The outward form of the animal is regulated by the construction
of the interior of its body ; and since we take this in all cases to be
that which is best suited to answer the ends of its creation, it fol-
lows that no other form or shape for that peculiar to the animal
could have been substituted. The form of the fish is that best
adapted for suspension and swimming in water ; that of the bird
for suspension and flying in air ; that of the quadruped for fleetness,
or for travelling under heavy burthens upon land ; that of man in
his capacity as

" Lord of the creation."

But form admits of division into size or magnitude, and shape or
symmetry ; and as we have seen that the shape of every animal
is that which proves most conducive to its design, so we shall find
on investigation that the size of the animal, so far from being an
affair of chance or accident, has likewise been considered. The
animal creation presents examples of every conceivable variety
and degree of magnitude — -from the mite, discernible only through
the microscope, to the stupendous elephant and astounding whale.
Shall we call this a freak of Nature 1 rather, shall we not discover
in it design ? yea ! and design most ingeniously worked out to
answer the various ends for which the different creatures were cre-
ated. Was not the elephant made of gigantic size in order that
he might possess surpassing strength, to enable him to travel under
enormous burthens ? On the other hand, was not the mouse formed
diminutive to render it light and agile, and apt to run into holes,
and chinks, and corners, to elude its pursuers 1

This brings us to the consideration of a law of Nature regarding
magnitude, — that great bodies move comparatively slowly or with
difficulty— a law which, though not strictly measurable by an arith-

4 LECTURES ON HORSES.

metical scale, is nevertheless one that, in the animal kingdom,
will be found pretty generally to apply. Compare the tardy and
tedious march of the elephant with the nimble-footedness of the
mouse ; the sluggish walk of the cart-horse with the amble of the
pony ; the heavy step of the grenadier with the light active trip
of the little man of business ; and in every instance there will ap-
pear some exemplification of this law. Is not this enough to shew
that the height and bulk of animals has not been a mere affair of
chance or accident, but a principle of design for wise and benevolent
purposes 1 Is not the large cart or dray-horse as useful a creature
in his way as the racer or the hunter, the cob or the pony 1 Could
any one of these completely supply the place of the other 1 Could
the racer drag the brewer's dray 1 — the dray-horse run the racer's
course!- — the pony carry the cob's twenty-stone weight? It is,
now-a-days, notorious enough among "judges of horses," that size
and bulk are indispensable for the carriage of heavy weight and
for the draft of heavy carriages : a slender-made horse, however
intrinsically good he may be, cannot perform in such situations.

We must take care, however, not to run away with the impression
that, in animal structure, capacity, or what is called " goodness,"
increases in direct ratio with greatness. When it does — which is
only now and then — 'nothing short of the same size and volume can
prove equivalent to it. Every horseman well knows that " a good
big horse" will always beat a good little or less horse, the difficulty
being to find the former. Everybody has a good pony. There
hardly ever was known a bad one. But how few persons have
possessed good sixteen or eighteen-stone-carrying hunters! Our
best racers and hunters have all been great or big horses — horses
15..2 or 16 hands high, and large in proportion. Need I mention
the names of Selim, Reubens, Castrel, Sorcerer, Soothsayer, Vol-
taire, Charles XII, Middleton, Velocipede, Camel, and, last and
greatest of all, Harkaway 1 * or need I say to my reader, — " go into
Leicestershire, and look at the hunters there, and you will see my
observations amply enough verified?" So that, when goodness is
combined with greatness, perfection is nearer approached than in
any other form.

* The following marcs were equally remarkable for size and excellence : —
Altisidora, Fleiir-de-Lis, Queen of Trumps, ( Irucifix, and Orelia.

FORM AND ACTION. 5

When I speak of largeness or bulk, I am not meaning fatness :
a fat horse is a proportionally weak horse. Adeps, or fat, is an
oily matter, itself unendowed with life or sensibility, contained in
cells, as honey is within the honey-comb, which are vital, and so
endowed that they have the power either of adding to or taking from
the quantity of oily matter at any time existing. The use of fat is to
fill up crevices in the body, facilitate the movements of parts one
upon another, and serve as a sort of internal nutriment, in case
the animal should be in a situation where he cannot obtain food :
but, when it accumulates, instead of facilitating the motions of
parts, it clogs and impedes them, and becomes, from its collected
amount of weight, a burthen to the body. A fat horse is not only
unfit to go, but really has a weight within himself to carry which
the horse in condition for work has been disencumbered of. A
fat horse will not bear the loss of blood the same as a horse in a
working state of body; the one will faint from the abstraction
of a quantity which the other will stand without being affected.
Plumpness, which arises from fatness, is too apt to convey to the
eye of the inexperienced the impression of strength and ability to
go to work ; whereas it ought, I repeat, be taken as a proof to the
contrary. When a purchaser enters a dealer's yard to buy a horse,
every horse shewn him, most likely, — certainly every horse four
or five years old, — is fat, and therefore not in a condition for work.
Dealers, by quantities of manger-meat, bruised oats, hay-chaff,
&c., and by giving their horses only such little walking exercise
as serves to keep their legs from filling, make the horses they have
for sale as fat as they can, and for two reasons : — 1st. Fat fills up
the crevices, and conceals any imperfections there may be of
outward form : it is the horse-dealer's putty ; by it, like the
coach-maker, he makes his article for sale appear more perfect,
or freer from defects, than it really is. — 2dly. By it he gives an
appearance of size and bulk to the articles, which passes for signs
of strength and ability, but which, as I said before, is in reality an
indication of weakness. No men are better aware of the disadvan-
tages arising from the presence of fat than trainers and jockeys.
" Such a horse is too fat to win his race," is a remark not seldom
heard, even at the starting-post on the race-course ; when all signs
of obesity, it is expected, have — or most assuredly ought to have

6 LECTURES ON' HORSES.

— vanished. How many hunters are there distressed — shall I say
killed 1 — at the beginning of the hunting-season, or before Christ-
mas, to what there are afterwards? A "judge," going to view a
hunting stud, feels the horses upon the ribs and along their crests,
and pronounces, at once, one to remain too " gross" or fat, another
to have been over -reduced: his experienced eye and hand telling
that in the stable which to another only becomes discoverable on
actual trial.

In young horses, the adeps or fat is mostly deposited upon the
external parts, — upon the superficial muscles, — and is, conse-
quently, found immediately underneath the skin ; but horses seven
or eight years old, and upwards, are very disposed to accumulate
fat inwardly — about the kidneys and bowels, and upon the belly,
internally. A horse may evince very little fatness outwardly, and
yet be loaded with fat " in his inside." Fatty matter deposited
among the fleshy parts or muscles of the body, and between their
fibres, renders them loose in texture and flabby in feel ; the adeps
occupying that space which, in the horse in hard condition, is filled
with clean muscular fibre.

The good great horse is not made up of fatty substance. He has
large bones, large joints, and large muscles; and in these, and these
alone, consist his superior physical powers. This skeleton is of
large dimensions. There is evidence, in the length of the bones
and in their bold and prominent projections, of considerable lever-
age. The muscles distributed upon it have evidently had every
advantage of action, their further power depending entirely upon
their own innate bulk and composition.

The time is now arrived for us to take a view of the fabric and
mechanism of

FORM AND ACTION.

THE SKELETON OF THE HORSE.

The bones of which the body is composed, divested of their flesh
or muscle and other soft parts, and connected together in their na-
tural order, constitute the skeleton or osseous fabric of an animal :
to this the fleshy parts are attached, by it the bowels are supported
and protected, and from different parts of it project levers, by whose
means, through the agency of the muscles or moving powers, loco-
motion is performed.

The contemplation of the skeleton of the horse — or, indeed, other
quadruped — presents to the mind a figure too irregular to admit of
any comparison save to the animal of which it once formed the
framework. It is constituted of a part we call the body, but which
is strangely deficient about the loins ; supported by four columns
or legs ; and has attached to it, in front, the neck and head ; behind,
the tail. This is the view the superficial observer might take of
the skeleton ; but it is not the view which will answer the ends
of science, or convey to our mind those notions of its fabric upon

8 LECTURES ON HORSKS.

which must be founded our philosophy of its uses and operations.
Let us commence at the occiput or hind-head, and we shall find a
continued chain of bones, termed vertebra, extending from it, form-
ing the bone-work of the neck, and back, and loins, and tail : alto-
gether— comprehending its entire line — having something the figure
of a double 77 turned lengthwise and united, in this manner: —

An artist would say, " Why this is precisely the superior outline
of a horse." We must regard it as the key-stone of the edifice —
the great bond of union of the two sides or halves into one whole.
It is the most important part of the structure. It is composed of
no less than thirty pieces, called vertebrce : — seven in the neck,
eighteen in the back, five in the loins, with the addition of the
croup and the tail ; and these are united one to another by an elas-
tic gristly substance, to the interposition of which is ascrib-
able that pliancy and flexibility which the spine — for so this chain
of bones is called — in the living animal is known pre-eminently
to possess. The sinking down of the back under the imposition
of weight at the time that the rider mounts — the spring)' and easy
seat the rider finds in the hollow or middle of the back, and the self-
adjusting power of the spine to the various inflexions of the body,
are all attributable to this property of elasticity which the vertebral
chain derives from its thirty gristly inter-layers. Supposing it had
been from beginning to end one undivided piece of bone, what would
have been the consequence 1 Why, that the animal could have
possessed no flexibility either in his neck, back, loins, or tail, and
must, therefore, have moved about upon his legs, stiff in all these
parts, as though he were affected with tetanus or locked-jaw. As
it is, there exists a little yielding, a very little, between every two
vertebrae; but this, multiplied by the number of the vertebra?,

THE SPINE. 9

gives, as an aggregate, to the entire spine a very considerable ex-
tent of flexibility. There is, perhaps, no occasion on Avhich this
flexibility of the spine is better seen than at the time a horse is
twisting his head round to bite himself, or scratch his cheek with
his hind foot, unless it be in the remarkable bending evinced by
an ass at the time he crawls under a low rail.

The figure the spine describes in its course is that, imperfectly,
of a double S, or of two/J'oi unusual lengths, placed horizontally,
and united thus / — - — """^ . There appear two arcs formed by
it, one at the upper part of the neck, another commencing in the
back, behind the blade-bone, and running through the loins and
croup to the tail. These, therefore, we may take to be the most
resisting parts of the structure — the parts most capable of bearing
superincumbent weight. In some horses these arcs are more
conspicuous than in others. In horses with crested necks and roach
backs they are most so; and such horses, on this account, are
reckoned strong and able to carry a greater load. There can be no
doubt but that roach-backed horses evince the greatest power
under the riders : I have experienced it myself on many occasions.
It is likewise, I believe, equally true that curved or crest-necked
horses have augmented power in their necks.

An attentive consideration of the figure of the spine will shew
the proper place for the seat of the rider : this obviously must be
the part where the animal can best support his burthen, and yet not
have his action in progression at all impeded. English horsemen
are apt to sit in too forward a situation upon their horses; foreigners
— Germans in particular — too backward. The saddle should be
placed backward enough not to interfere with the motions of the
shoulder-blade, and forward enough for the pummel to meet the
rise or summit of the withers; the girths crossing at a sufficient
distance behind the elbows not to rub against or fret them in
action. In the living horse there is a dip in the back, greater or
less, immediately behind the withers ; a place the rider upon the
bare back naturally slips into for ease and comfort, and particu-
larly if he happen to be mounted upon a rough trotter. This,
Nature seems to say, is the place for the saddle.

We have looked at the arcs or arches of the spine ; let us now

C

10 FORM AND ACTION.

take a view of the dips, or reversed arcs. There is but one, but
it is a very remarkable one. It commences at the lower part of the
neck, extends backward through the interspace between the shoul-
der-blades, and terminates where the spine emerges from behind
the blade-bones. This must be the weakest part of the spine ;
and for this reason Nature has placed it in a situation where it
cannot possibly have to support any burthen. No man ever
dreamed of riding upon the summit of, or in front of, the withers.
This remarkable dip, or downward curve, appears to owe its ex-
istence to the two arcs afore-named. Had the spine been con-
stituted of one continued arc from end to end, the head must have
been inflected downwards, without the power of elevation ; vision
no longer could have proved useful in directing the animal on his
way ; the back would have been of a most awkward form for the
carriage of burthen; the cavities of the chest and belly of a most in-
convenient shape and the limbs of enormous length. Had the spine
been made straight from head to tail, no elongation of it, and with
difficulty any shortening of it, could have been produced, the con-
sequences of which must have been a great diminution of that
elasticity and power of adjustment for which, in its present form,
the structure is so useful and admirable. The beauty of the neck,
the freedom of erection and depression of the head, the faculty of
looking back and turning round with equal facility and rapidity,
would all have been greatly impaired by a spine either directly
straight or uniformly curved : in addition to which, none of the
actions of the body, in particular gallopping and leaping, could
possibly have been performed with the same efficiency they are at
present.

The arc of the spine forming the loins and croup is completed
posteriorly by the tail, which, when of its natural length, con-
siderably extends it, both backwards and downwards. Then here
is another part upon which weight may be imposed with great ad-
vantage to the animal : the tail itself will assist in its maintenance,
let alone its being placed immediately above the hind limbs or pos-
terior columns of support; and the destruction of this arc, when
the burthen is intended to be borne by it, forms, there cannot be a
question, a decided objection to docking. Asses, we know, with

THE SPINE. 11

great apparent facility, and comparative ease, carry their loads upon
their croups : docking, one would think, must tend to render this
carriage difficult.

The vertebra, or bones composing the spine, are exceedingly ir-
regular in their figure, and remarkable principally on account of
protuberances and projections growing from their sides and supe-
rior parts. The superior projections are conspicuous for their length,
particularly those forming the withers. In fact, it is the length of
these processes that regulates the height and fineness of the withers.
Altogether,, the protuberances and projections may be regarded
as constituting a series of levers for the attachment of muscles,
many in number and great in power, on which mainly depends
the strength in action of the animal, as well as his capability as a
beast of burthen.

T have already observed that the motions, although exceedingly
limited between any two vertebrse, are pretty extensive in the
entire spine, owing to the number of its component pieces. The
spine was required to be a very strong and resistant structure ; at
the same time it was required to have the power of flexure and
curvation, in order to accommodate itself to the various positions and
movements of the body during progression ; all which could not have
been effected in the same piece of mechanism without a manifold
division of its component parts. Whenever the motion between
two bones is of an extensive or varied character, the liability to
dislocation or displacement between them becomes great: the
more completely the bones are locked or dove-tailed together, the
more limited becomes the motion between them, but the more
secure they are against liability to dislocation. Such is the admi~
rable mechanism of the spine, that both these desiderata are insured.

12 FOltM AND ACTION.

THE BACK AND LOINS.

" The back of a horse, to be a good one, should sink a little below the withers,
but the other part should never be too low, but always straight. When
the back is higher behind than forwards, he is apt to be pinched in his
shoulders, which makes him both weak and unsightly ; besides, his hind
parts are rendered so heavy thereby, that he generally has an awkward
clumsy gait, and moves but slowly. If a horse's back is too short in
proportion to his bulk, and yet he is in other respects well built, he may
hold out pretty well on a journey, but such are generally slow, and
never make a good appearance ; but if at the same time he is tall, and
has very long legs, his worth is but trifling. If his back is a little arched
behind the saddle, it is a sign of strength, and shews fitness both for
hunting and travelling." — Farrier^ Dictionary.

The strength of arched structures is well exhibited in works of
art. Wherever the architect requires great strength and resist-
ance he adopts the form of the arch. Between the columns of spa-
cious buildings he extends arches, by which their walls are ren-
dered more secure, in being bound together, and their roofs better
supported ; and in the construction of bridges across waters of any
extent, he employs an arch, or a succession of arches. That won-
derful work, the Tunnel underneath the bed of the Thames, con-
sists of a series of united arches of substance sufficient to resist
the pressure of the superincumbent body of water, which at high
tide is estimated at an almost incredible weight.

With all the strength and power of resistance of the archi-
tectural arch, the arcs of the spine possess a degree of mobility,
enabling them to alter their figure, to become larger or smaller,
elliptical or circular, according as circumstances require : a pro-
perty that could not be given to the mechanical arch without ren-
dering it unstable and detracting considerably from its strength.
At the same time it is worthy of remark, that, wherever there is any
elasticity arising either from the kind of materials of which the arch
is composed, or from the nature of its construction, it is invariably
found to possess, in consequence, increased powers of resistance.
A happy elucidation of this is seen in the common violin, which,
when strung up to concert pitch, has been calculated to be actually
sustaining a force equal to eighty pounds; under the pressure of
which it would certainly break were it not for its arched form and

THE BACK AND LOINS. 13

the elasticity of the material (very old seasoned deal) of which it
is manufactured.

From their mobility the arches of the spine not only derive the
requisite elasticity, but likewise that self-regulating power which,
under all changes, preserves their equilibration or undiminished
strength. Dr. Hutton, in his " Principles of Bridges," tells us that
the arch of equilibration, i. e. the one which is in equilibrium in all
its constituent parts, is the only one which admits of a horizontal
line across its top, and, in addition to being both graceful and con-
venient, possesses the advantage of being made higher or lower
at pleasure, with the same span or opening. He adds, that the
elliptical form of arch approaches the nearest to that of equilibra-
tion for strength and convenience. How strikingly and beautifully
is all this verified in the fabric of the spine, and how wonderful it
is that the structure should be capable of preserving its equilibra-
tion under all the various changes of figure and span which its
arcs must, in the movements of the animal, be continually under-
going! Who but " the Divine Architect of the Body" could have
framed and finished such a piece of workmanship ]

It must be manifest that the mechanical powers of the spine,
regarded either as a fixed or moveable body, must be affected by
its length: and that there exist considerable variations in the
longitude of spines, must appear self-evident to any observer of
horses : not that there are any additional bones in a spine of un-
usual length ; but that the vertebra? are of larger size, and their
bodies and intervening cartilages thicker. Some horses have
very long backs and necks ; some very short ones. Hardly any
two have backs and necks of the same length; from all which
result certain advantages and disadvantages. We will first con-
sider the longitude of that part of the spine that forms the back,
and in two points of view : — 1st, as it affects the support of weight;
2dly, as it mechanically affects progression.

Regarding the dorsal portion of the spine with its super-imposed
burthen as a pole or lever supported in front by the fore limbs
and behind by the back limbs, after the manner of a barrel of
beer or a sedan between its bearers, it is manifest that the greater
its length the greater must be the leverage, and consequent re-
duction of the weight of the burthen. On this principle, the legs of

14 FOltM AND ACTION.

the long-backed horse are actually sustaining less load than those
of the short-backed horse, even though their riders or burthens
may be of equivalent weights, from the circumstance of their
operating at a greater distance from the load.

But an important circumstance to be taken into consideration
in the present case is the flexibility of the pole or lever — the fact
of its being liable to bend under superincumbent weight, and of
undergoing, in consequence, alteration in its figure, either from an
arc to a straight line or to a reversed arc, whereby its mechanical
powers become proportionably weakened. When a horse fails
under too heavy a load, we do not find that it is the limbs that give
way, but the spine. His back bends or sinks under the weight to
the extent of its limits of flexibility, and then the limbs falter,
and the whole machine succumbs. Did not the pillars of support
yield either from Nature's warning, excessive pain, or from actual
inability to sustain more, the spine would probably become frac-
tured— not dissevered in its joints, for they are stronger than the
bones themselves.

We now perceive the reason why horses with long and hollow
backs are accounted weak. To a degree, they are so, beyond
doubt : but it is a great mistake to suppose that horses for riding
cannot be made too short in the back. length in the back is at-
tended with many advantages : the limbs have a lighter burthen
to carry — the stride in progression will admit of being greater, and,
providing the hind limbs have length enough to reach forward un-
der the load, the facility of forward motion will be increased : the
chief disadvantages of such increased longitude, in progression,
being the inability of the hind legs to reach the proper fulcral
points underneath the machine, and the operation of the additional
length or leverage in turning. We often hear excellent practical
judges of horses saying, "a horse must have length to gallop;" by
which they mean length of back: and, providing the limbs are
proportionate in longitude and power, the observation is one which
experience will shew to be correct. How frequently do we meet
with horses with long backs reported to be, not merely fast, but
strong galloppers in heavy ground, and able to carry great weights.
I have known even hollow-backed horses have this character. I
remember a hunter belonging to Captain P — , of the Guards, one.

THE BACK AND LOINS. 15

without exception, of the most hollow -backed horses I ever saw,
and yet this horse, Captain P. who is

" A skilful horseman, and a huntsman bred,"

has, over and over again, assured me, was in mud a most capital
horse after hounds ; and, indeed, when we came to look at his
points — when we perceived that he had loins broad and rounded,
haunches fleshy, and thighs down to his hocks, it became no
matter of surprise to learn that his powers, in spite of his hollow-
ness of back, were so surpassing. Had he been made narrow
and tucked-up in his loins, ragged in his hips, flat and thin in his
thighs, and weak in his hocks, his hollow back would have proved
an additional source of weakness to him, and rendered him, for all
purposes where strength was required, all but worthless.

A short back is well adapted for the support of weight, and, from
being combined with, as a sort of kindred make, broad loins and
full hind quarters, is, Avith reason, regarded as a mark of strength :
but it is disadvantageous for gallopping. It will not admit of any
great length in the limbs, for fear of their interfering with one
another in action, or of one set over-shooting the other, and there-
fore, most wisely, it is combined with short legs, whose two strides
amount to little more in extent than one of the long-backed horse's.
Consequently, to keep equal pace, one horse must take three or
four strides while the other is taking two. The short back is
well suited to the dray or cart-horse, in whom we want not speed
but strength; and strength not alone to bear burthen, but in draught.
In heavy draught, in particular, length of body would prove disad-
vantageous to him, from the circumstance of the limbs being re-
quired to be longer and farther distant from each other, and from the
step being greater than is compatible with the full concentration and
co-operation of the bodily powers. The short step of the cart-horse
or cob it is which enables him to husband and maintain his powers
of strength while in action. A long step would, by the too great
call upon those powers, tend to exhaust them ; and, by repetition,
render the animal incapable of proceeding with his load.

I have just observed that when the back is short the loins will
be found to be broad and strong — what is called, good ; a circum-
stance arising from the circularity of the chest and the breadth of

16 FORM AND ACTION

the hips — these four formations, viz., shortness of back, circularity
of chest, breadth of hip, and strength of loins, generally being
found in combination. It is a great matter that a horse should
have good loins, and when these are associated with a long back,
and the requisite length and substance of hind quarters, we may
take it for granted that the animal possesses both speed and en-
durance. Look at hares and rabbits, greyhounds, deer, kangaroos,
and such-like animals, and note what thickness of loins, and length
and muscularity of hind limbs they all exhibit; while their fore-parts
amount to hardly any thing in comparative substance. It is im-
possible that a horse with thin narrow loins can hold in his gallop :
the moment he puts his feet in dirt, that moment will he fail. It
is the good loin, as I said before, that can — and the only point that
can — compensate for hollowness of back. The horse I quoted as,
though hollow-backed in the extreme, being an extraordinary
hunter, had one of the finest of loins; from which we practically
learn that, when the loins are good, not length, nor even hollow-
ness of back, are to be accounted objectionable points.

It is nonsense to pretend to prescribe that the back should be
long or short, of this length or that ; although we may, in a general
way, fall in with the common description of what a back ought to be,
and say, "that, to be a good one, it should sink a little below (behind)
the withers, and then run straight." The back will be too long or
too short, or (though, to the observer, of unusual longitude or short-
ness, still) of the proper length, depending upon the formation and
dimensions of other parts with which, in structure and action, it is
associated. A long back would ill accord with short legs, defeated
in their operation — a short back would not require long legs, they
would do too much for it. We have, therefore, long-backed
horses and short-backed horses, and yet with backs of proper
length : because the longitude, whatever it may be, is that which
is the suitable length for the machine of which it forms a part. A
very common, but not the less, on that account, reprehensible
custom among "judges of horses," is to find fault with a point,
without any reference whatever to the general or particular con-
formation with which that point is consorted. Abstractedly con-
sidered, it may be out of proportion ; but considered, correlatively,
with out-of-proportioned other parts in the same frame, it may be

THE NECK. 17

in the best proportion, or of such proportion as serves to compen-
sate for faulty dimensions in other parts. A part most faultlessly
fashioned and proportioned may — placed among certain other ill-
formed or out-of-proportioned parts — appear itself to be the faulty
piece in the fabric. In an animal body, as in machines made by
man's hands, the great object to be sought for is harmony between
the constituent members: at the instant, we are not hastily to con-
demn any apparent disproportion, lest, on critical examination, it
should turn out to have been given for the purpose of compen-
sation— to make amends for some defective structure elsewhere,
which may not at first sight have struck our attention.

LECTURE IT.
THE NECK.

" With neck like a rainbow, erecting his crest."

THE neck being the part to which the head is affixed, and by
which it is attached to the body and supported, its shape and pro-
portions will necessarily admit of a good deal of variation, accord-
ing to the size and setting-on of that appendage. Viewed in the
skeleton, the neck appears a very slender and inadequate structure
to support such a formidable and bulky substance as the head ; and
truly inadequate to such a burden would it prove, were it not in the
living animal aided in its functions by two powers of considerable
influence and importance — one elastic, the other muscular, in its
nature. The striking difference in the aspect and volume of the
neck in the anatomized and living animals, will shew how great is
the proportion of soft parts — ligament and muscle — compared with
the abstract osseous materials or component vertebrce ; and when we
come to consider the nature and economy of these soft materials, we
shall find that hardly any of the weight of the head is actually
borne by the vertebrce of the neck ; although the bone here, as in
other parts, must still be regarded as the framework and basis of
the structure. So far, therefore, as the bone is concerned in the
support of the head, it matters little what the form and dimensions
of the neck may be ; its length and figure and substance having
reference chiefly to the operation of the muscular and elastic
powers.

D

18 FORM AND ACTION.

A neck disproportionately long will, according as it is well or ill
carried, detract more or less from the symmetrical beauty of the
fore parts : at the same time that it is operating in rendering the
head more burdensome than if it were a shorter projecture from
the body, on account of the increase of leverage. A favourite
exclamation of Professor Coleman's was, " Give me a horsa that
will starve at grass ;" thereby meaning, a horse having a neck so
short that, from not being able to reach the grass, he was incapa-
ble, or nearly so, of getting his living by grazing. Such extreme
and disproportionable shortness of neck, however, although advan-
tageous in the light in which it was viewed by the Professor, viz.
decrease of leverage, is on some other accounts by no means desir-
able. It is perhaps an objection to a horse with a very short neck,
and legs at all long, that he cannot but with difficulty get his liv-
ing by grazing ; but a greater objection to such shortness is, that a
horse so made can hardly by any training in the manege be made
to ride well. The neck is too short and too thick — the two pro-
perties generally go together — to admit of the required flexion, and
the consequence is, the head cannot, by any perseverance in rein-
ing or bitting, be drawn into its proper position. The horse will
ride piggishly — go boring forward, perhaps with his nose out, and
make that sort of continual dead pull on the hand that gives his rider
the sensation of his inevitably falling down at the first blunder in
action he happens to make. A horse's neck that is short is not only,
commonly, broad and thick as well, but, moreover, is combined with
strong shoulders, thereby rendering him a great deal more fit for the
harness-collar than for the saddle : such shortness and thickness in
the neck, and strength in the shoulders, being for harness attended
with many advantages. The bull-neck, as it is called, is proverbial
for strength, and strength of a kind which appears well adapted for
draught. In Spain and Portugal the oxen are yoked to the bullock-
cars by their horns, which by leathern thongs are lashed to the pole
of the car ; and thus, by strength of neck alone almost, do they
move forward with their loads, and, to appearance, with as much
facility and effect as though they were — as in our own country — in
harness-collars. Nothing can demonstrate power in the neck bet-
ter than this; at the same time that it shews us that the com-
monly received notion, " the neck should be lean," is erroneous.

THE NECK. 19

Such thinness or leanness may prove admirably suited for flexibility,
and be the means of the horse reining-in and riding pleasantly ;
but for every purpose of power, for endurance, for guarantee of
bodily strength, a broad and muscular neck is a point to be sought
after and valued.

But the neck may be long, and yet its carriage may be such as
shall counteract any increase of leverage. In the horse " with a
rainbow neck," although his neck may be by actual admeasure-
ment equally long with that of another horse who carries his neck
quite straight, yet will the leverage of the head be altogether
different. It will be seen, on a review of the skeleton, that the
lever, in a well-carried head, does not run in a line parallel with
the neck, but extends diametrically across the curve of it ; proving
that the neck, though long, does not in point of fact — so long at
least as it be well-carried — add any thing to the leverage.

There are circumstances, however, under which increased length
with straightness in the neck, however inelegant it may be, appears
even to be productive of advantage. It seems to me that the prepon-
derance of the head in the forward direction must have some influ-
ence in facilitating progression at the time that the horse is flinging
himself forward in his gallop with all his might ; and in order that
it may have this effect the more, he projects his head while gallop-
ping to the utmost, and inclines it to the ground. I know very
well other ends are answered by this straightening of the neck and
protrusion and declination of the head, but this nowise militates
against the operation of the gravity of these parts in that sort of
swinging or leaping action of which the gallop consists. This ac-
counts for length in neck being considered desirable in a racer, and
for his always making the most of it in running, carrying his head
in that thrust-forward position that his muzzle is the foremost part :
hence the report that a horse has won his race " by a nose " be-
comes literally correct. This demonstration of the utility of a long
and straight neck reminds us once more that, in regarding the con-
formation of horses, it is our duty ever to bear in mind of what
breed or kind they are, and for what purpose they are by nature or
art intended. In a hackney, nothing is more unpleasant than a
long neck so straightened that the rider in vain tries to rein the

20 FORM AND ACTION.

head in ; in a race-horse the same appears to be attended, in his
speed at least, with advantage.

The most undesirable form of neck of all others is what is called
the ewe neck. Very often this is a natural deformity, appearing to
consist in extension of the dip or reversed arc* of the cervical por-
tion of the spine : oftener, however, I believe, it will be found to
owe its production to the harsh and fruitless efforts of art " to get
the head up or in," when the neck is of that description that will
not, naturally, admit of it. Such constrained erect position of the
neck and head is not only exceeding unsightly, but is irksome to
the horse, and to his rider as well, who has, by continual workings
with his bridle-hand, to keep the head in this forced erect posture.
It is of no use trying by bitting or riding, or any course of manege,
to alter a natural ewe-neck : no pains or perseverance can ever
render a horse so formed pleasant to ride.

THE HEAD.

" The head of a horse should be narrow, lean, and not too long ; but the prin-
cipal matter to be observed respecting it, is, that it is well united with the
neck, that so the horse may be enabled to bring it into a good position :
and the best position in which a horse can possibly hold his head is such
an one as is perfectly perpendicular from the brow to the ground, so that,
were a plummet to be suspended from that part, it would just raze or
touch the nose. Every horse that has too large a head is apt to bear too
hard on the bridle, which not only tires the rider's hand very much, but
exposes both to several very disagreeable accidents ; and, besides, a large
headed horse cannot appear to any advantage unless he has a very long
and well-turned neck." — Farriers' Dictionary.

The spine affords us an example of a structure both supporting
and supported : at its fore extremity the head is supported by it ;
at its hind, the tail ; in the middle it supports the chest; while it-
self is supported by the fore and hind limbs. The head appended
to the extremity of the vertebral chain is mechanically operating by
its gravity the same as any dead weight placed at the end of a long
lever; for which reason, though a long neck is per se objectionable,
yet are there, as we have seen, some circumstances which may
tend to mitigate, and others that will tend to nullify, these objec-

* Already described at page 10.

THE HEAD. 21

tions. A large head will, of course, render length in the neck less
desirable ; but even in this case much will depend upon the man-
ner in which the head is " set on," and upon the mode in which it is
carried, and something upon the form of the head itself. A sort of
slang reply used by horse-dealers when any purchaser objects to a
horse on account of the size of his head, is, " Oh, never mind his
head, sir ! he carries it himself." An apophthegm which, vulgar and
absurd as it appears, like the motto in the old song, " means more
than it says." For the dealer means his customer to understand
that the animal is capable — possesses the power in his neck — of
carrying his head without trouble to himself or inconvenience to his
rider; and that, therefore, his big head is in point of fact not an
objection to him, or at least only so far as regards its appearance.

Abstract size of the head is of less consequence than the car-
riage of it; and, in order that it may be well carried, the head must
be properly " set on." Upon this depends the power of getting
the head into the proper position. When the head is properly set
on, and the neck of adequate length, the riding-master's task be-
comes comparatively facile and pleasant : for such a horse Nature
has clone what he by art in vain endeavours to accomplish for a
horse of an opposite conformation. In making these observations
I am fully aware how much for the better horses having faulty con-
formation in these respects may, by a judicious system of manege,
be improved : I know that they may, and to a greater degree than
people in general imagine ; at the same time I shall not be contra-
dicted when I affirm, that there are necks straight or ewed, with
heads set on in that fashion, that will defy all the riding-masters in
Christendom to get them into a proper position, and make such
horses ride in any tolerable form.

There is a great variety in the size and shape of horses' heads,
and the indications they afford are no less unerring than useful to
us in determining breed, qualifications, &c. The head may be of
that ordinarv magnitude and suitable character that attracts no par-
ticular notice; or it may be disproportionately large or small, or
out of proportion in some of its parts ; or such as is accounted hand-
some, or plain, or ugly; or such as denotes kind or breeding, or
any particular breed, or nationality.

A LARGE OR BIG HEAD is generally regarded as unsightly —

22 FORM AND ACTION.

as detracting from the beauty of its possessor, or actually rendering
him plain or ugly, and, consequently, as a sufficient reason to reject
the purchase of such a horse. It does not follow that, because a
head is large, it be plain or ugly, although we shall very often find
these qualities combined : a coarse, vulgar, large head, with a
countenance possessing neither breed nor sagacity, but rather ex-
pressive of ill-temperedness, is certainly enough to condemn the
unfortunate owner of it, be his other qualifications what they may;
but a head which, although large, shews shapeliness, and some
breeding and sagacity, and withal has a good-tempered front, ought
not to be despised on account of its magnitude. A frequent ac-
companiment of a large head is, what is called,

A ROMAN Nose ; and this, with many persons, constitutes an
additional objection to it : for my own part, however, I do not carry
dislike to this formation so far as is commonly done. I do not
think, myself, that roman-nosed horses are in general ill-tempered,
although low bred ; nor have I found them inclined to vice : in-
deed, I can call to mind instances in which horses with such heads
have turned out very good of their kind. It is, however, as being
the very reverse in form of the blood or Arabian head, a decisive
mark of low or rather no breeding, and therefore can only be tole-
rated in half or coarse-bred horses.

A SMALL Head is almost peculiar to the well-bred horse : we
rarely see it unless in conjunction with breeding; and yet there
may be a vulgarity about its make and expression which, were it
not for its diminished size, we should consider rank and objection-
able. It may have neither the forehead, nor the muzzle, nor the jowl,
of the true blood head. In a racer such would be regarded as vulgar,
and give rise to suspicions of pedigree; in a half-bred horse its
smallness might, and probably would, tend to enhance his estima-
tion ; though, when the countenance did not warrant it, very likely
most unjustifiably. Generally speaking, however, a small head
turns out to be

A BLOOD Head — that which the nearest approaches the Arabian,
and yet has now become so congenerous with, and characteristic of,
our own breed of race-horses, that it may be said to be the peculiar
attribute of the thorough-bred horse. Of all heads this is the one to
be lauded and valued. There can be no doubt about family when this

THE HEAD. 23

makes its appearance. At the same time that it possesses breadth
and fulness in parts where capacity is needed, it is so "lean"
every where, that every subcutaneous vein and muscle may be dis-
tinguished through the skin. Ample across the forehead^vide be-
tween the ears, small and yet expanding at the muzzle, capacious in
throat, and broad though elegantly curved at its junction with the
neck, the head of the racer is at once perfect and beautiful, and
full of expression, and fire, and sagacity. Blood and action, speed
and bottom, are all the natural attributes of a horse having such a
head ; and though these brilliant qualities may be in a measure
sullied by temper, still, in a general way, this is the head that is
to be regarded as emblematic of all that is good and valuable in
the horse species. For all this we stand indebted to the Arabian,
the radix of our blood stock : although we have, it must be allowed,
greatly improved upon the original breed, still for our present un-
equalled turf-horse are we as much in debt to the Arabian as the
farmer or the horticulturist is for his improved vegetable pro-
ductions to the exotic or graft from another country.

We have been considering the most eligible size and shape, or
kind of head ; but we have said nothing yet about what, perhaps,
is of more consequence than either its magnitude or form, or what,
more properly speaking, may in a measure comprehend both, viz.
the face or expression of the head — the countenance of the horse,
if I may be allowed the phrase. To persons not conversant with
or observant of horses, it is quite incredible what an endless variety
there is in this respect; almost as many shades of difference as
exist in the human countenance. Take, for example, the House-
hold Brigade of Cavalry, all blacks, and nearly a thousand strong,
drawn up in line, and examine with philosophic eye the horses'
faces : no two will be found alike ; every individual will present
his own peculiar expression ; and by that look, always indicative of
property or propensity of some sort, will he best be distinguished
out of a herd of other horses of the same colour. The common
mode of distinguishing horses is by colour and marks, and size and
shape, and so forth ; but this is not the true unerring characteristic:
that is to be found in the face alone. In many animals there is an
evident difference between the countenances of the male and female;
a remark that holds good with horses so long as they continue un-

24 FORM AND ACTION.

castrated, but not with geldings deprived of their testicles at the
very early age they commonly are. I have on numerous occasions
essayed to determine the sex of a horse — gelding or mare — by exa-
mining the face when first confronted with the stable door ; but I
have found myself in error too often to think of drawing any dis-
tinct traits of difference between their countenances, and have been
forced to confess I knew not whether I were looking at a mare or
a gelding. Still, a great deal more information than appears to be
imagined may be gleaned from a happy knack of catching the ex-
pressions of horses' faces — the science of horse-physiognomy.

I possess an esteemed acquaintance on the turf — a gentleman
whose judgment in the choice of a racer, by everybody intimate
with him, is on all occasions appealed to — who will not purchase a
thorough-bred horse unless his countenance be such as he approves
of. An ill-visaged, bad-tempered looking horse he invariably de-
clines at any price. His common practice in selecting racers out of
large studs is to have the horses for sale brought first to the door or
window of the stable, to give him an opportunity of surveying their
countenances ; after which, he only sees out such as he has in phy-
siognomy found faultless.

I remember one day, while in Ireland, accompanying my friend
from Dublin into the country, in a buggy, to his chateau, when, as
we were riding along, I perchance observed to him, what a pretty foal
was running by the side of a thorough-bred mare in a field by the
road-side. " Yes," replied he ; " and that foal looks to me as if he

were got by ," a racing stallion then in England. " How

can that be," said I, " when the horse is not in this country V
" Why," returned he, " the mare must have been imported in
foal." " Oh, then I suppose you know that to have been the case."
" No ! indeed, I know nothing further than that the foal's face has
the identical expression of the old horse's." " Then you really
must excuse me, saying, that it appears to me you are forming an
opinion of the sire of the foal upon very slender grounds." " Slen-
der as you suppose them, I will make you a wager of a guinea they
prove correct." " Done !" — The way to settle the dispute was
ready enough : the farm-house of the property lay about half a
mile out of the high road. Thither we drove ; saw the proprietor,
a stranger to both of us ; and from him learnt, to my surprise and

THE HEAD. 25

loss of my wager, that the colt was got by the horse named, the
mare having been purchased in England and brought over in foal.

This little anecdote will serve to remind us, as connoisseurs in
horses, that we are not in the habit of paying all the attention we
ought to the heads of horses, and in particular to that part of them
we call the face. We are told, the countenance is " the peculiar
property of man" — is the mind pourtrayed in the face : call it what
we may, however, there is in every brute an expression of face pe-
culiar to him or his kindred by which we may not only recognise
him better than by any other distinctive character, but in a very
great degree judge of his temper and capabilities The large
head not infrequently possesses a face whose aspect is recommenda-
tory, or of a character so open and good-tempered as to assure us
of the tractability and willingness of its possessor ; circumstances
under which it would be wrong, unless it were in the case of a race-
horse, to object to it. I have known a great many good big-headed
half-bred horses — hunters, roadsters, &c. — with faces of kindly ex-
pression : at the same time I must join in the universal anathema
pronounced upon big, ugly heads, and particularly when combined
with sour, ill-tempered countenances.

The head includes within it three great cavities or compart-
ments:— one occupying the summit, forehead, and temples, for
holding the brain ; a second, extending from the forehead to the
muzzle, including the fore part of the face, for containing the ap-
paratus for smelling ; a third, known as the mouth, in which are
fixed the instruments for the mastication of the food : in addition
to which the head furnishes lodgment for the organs of sight and
hearing — the eyes and the ears. The throat, likewise, is a part
of very great importance : it includes the larynx, the entrance-
door into the windpipe, and a fulness hereabouts, externally, is an
indication that this aperture is of ample dimensions, and well-con-
structed for the purposes of respiration : in other words, a full throat
or throttle is one of the signs of " good wind." In fact, as a gene-
ral observation, we may assume, that the capabilities of parts are,
ccsteris paribus, commensurate with their development. The Ara-
bian or blood head, affords a good illustration of this. Its noble
broad forehead vouches for an ample share of sagacity ; its promi-

E

2(5 FORM AND ACTION.

nent nose and dilated nostrils, coupled with fulness about the
throat and width across the jowl, shews that ample provision has
been made for the olfactory, respiratory, and manducatory appa-
ratus : so that, small as the blood head at first view appears, it, in
point of fact, is large, or rather capacious, in every part where de-
velopment of the contained organs is required. Thus, that which
is set down as the handsomest of heads, turns out, on examination,
to be the most serviceable of heads : in this, as, indeed, in most —
in all — other instances in the animal economy, utility and beauty
go hand in hand.

The Muzzle, as all the inferior or most dependent part of the
head is called, including the nostrils and lips and mouth, is very
characteristic of the breed or species. Observe what a difference
exists between the muzzles of a low and a high-bred horse : the one,
broad and flat and mean-looking, emerging from a line more or less
convex down the front of the face, and curving down into the
upper lip, with nostrils over-lapping, and their contracted en-
trances beset and almost closed by long hairs : the other, small
enough, as the saying is, " to go into a pint-pot," with every part
boldly marked, and its outline, instead of a curve, being straight
along the front, or from about the middle of the face, inclining for-
ward or outward even beyond the perpendicular of the line of the
face, and, instead of declining, ending abruptly in a prominent
point, from which it turns sharply down, at a right angle nearly, to
form the upper lip ; the nostrils at the sides standing open, with
their scanty borders seemingly insufficient to cover them, and with
hardly any hair at their entrances. It is difficult to sketch these
differences in words : a drawing might serve to elucidate the de-
scription ; but, to thoroughly understand all that is said, the living
subjects themselves must be consulted. The muzzle is a part
very characteristic of breeding; so much so that, when other points
are dubiously developed, great reliance may be placed upon it
alone.

The Eyes strike the most superficial observer as tokens of
breed. Everybody has noticed the difference between the eye of
an Arabian or English racer, and that of the half or cart-bred
horse : the bold and decided brow, and full gazelle eye of the

THE HEAD. 27

former, cannot fail to attract attention. But there is a very great
variety in eyes, and in the expression given by them ; hence one
reason for the interminable differences in the countenances of ani-
mals. I cannot say, myself, I admire an over-full or exceeding pro-
minent eye ; there is a sort of unnatural expression about it which
I have often fancied has turned out to amount to — what grooms
call — " foolishness," and I have, more than once, imagined such
horses to be near-sighted. Opposed to this, we meet with the
small, sunken, dark-looking eye, which creates a suspicion about
temper, and particularly when an expression of what is called
" sourness" is to be observed in it. I have seen several in-
stances of viciousness in horses with such eyes, and therefore am
I biassed against them ; at the same time I have known horses
with such sour, ill-tempered-looking eyes, after having been cured
of their vice, turn out the very best of their kind. I remember
well a dark chestnut horse my father purchased of Dyson, after
he had been rejected by the Artillery as a trooper, at the price of
£30 : he had what are called jng-eyes, and a more restive, ill-
tempered horse, perhaps, never existed. However, by dint of
perseverance in long and daily rides by a bold and fearless horse-
man, his rebellious spirit was at length subdued, and ultimately
he became quiet and tractable enough " for a child to ride ;" turn-
ing out such a hunter as no fence could stop or the longest day
tire ; and being sold to Mr. J. Nicholl for £90, who afterwards
refused two hundred guineas for him — any price that could be of-
fered, in fact — in consequence of his turning out about the very
best horse in the Berkeley hunt.

There is a notion abroad, that a horse who shews " the white
of his eye" is inclined to be vicious; and, like most other notions
of the sort, this appears to have had some truth for its foundation,
though the truth has been somewhat distorted in the deductions.
Some — very few — horses shew the white of their eyes naturally*;
many do so by a habit of turning their eyes upon any person ap-
proaching them, and particularly in their stalls; which glance

* Animals in general shew only the transparent part of the eye : man and
the hog disclose the white of the eye.

28 FOltM AND ACTION.

askaunt necessarily discloses more or less of the white of the eye.
Now this oblique or retrospective cast of the eye may certainly
be — and mostly is, perhaps — accompanied with some thought or
intention of biting or kicking ; but, on the other hand, it may be
the effect of habit, of a playful disposition even, and so may not
portend any evil. I have met with many cases of both descrip-
tions, where vice was and where vice was not present ; but I
cannot add, I have encountered such a majority of the former de-
scription as to pronounce " shewing the white of the eye" an in-
fallible indication of a vicious disposition.

Before I conclude this Lecture, let me recommend to the notice
of my reader the study of horse physiognomy : it will, as a horse-
man or veterinarian, repay him for any time and attention he
may bestow upon it ; he will find in it the only infallible criterion
whereby to recognise an old servant or acquaintance ; to enable
him to distinguish one horse from another ; and, at the same time,
will derive from it that sort of discriminative knowledge which
will give him considerable insight into the propensities and qualities
of horses, even before any opportunity has been afforded him of
making trial of them. To the acquirement of such knowledge an
extensive field for observation is essential, with opportunities of
becoming acquainted with the tempers and characters of horses ;
and, even with these opportunities, it is only by a daily collection
of facts, and by deductions cautiously and tardily drawn from them,
that we can expect to arrive at any perfection in a science at the
present day so undeservedly neglected.

29

LECTURE III.

THE BODY.

" In making choice of a horse you must take care" that he has a good body,
and is full in the flanks ; for it is not one of the best signs when the last
of the short ribs is at a considerable distance from the haunch bone, or
when the ribs are too much straightened in their compass ; as they ought
to rise equal with the haunch bone, or nearly so." * * * "A narrow-
chested horse can never have a good body, nor breathe well, and such
horses as have straight ribs, and are at the same time great feeders, will
soon distend their bellies to such a degree, that it will be impossible for
their entrails to be contained within their ribs, so they will press down,
and form what is commonly called ' a cow's belly.' These horses are
difficult to be saddled, but have generally good backs ; and though their
croups are not so beautiful, being for the most part pointed, yet in re-
compence for that deficiency, they have generally excellent reins." —
Farrier's Dictionary.

FOR convenience of description, the entire animal machine is
divided into body, neck, head, and limbs or extremities.

The BODY, in the skeleton, appears formed by the spine, the
ribs, and the breast-bone : these together constitute an inclosure
which anatomists call the chest. ' But in the living or undissected
animal, we have superadded to this, another inclosure, known as
the belly ; which, from the circumstance of its walls being com-
posed of soft parts — flesh and skin — leaves no trace of its exist-
ence in the skeleton. Let us consider, first,

The Chest.

Of this inclosure the spine forms the roof, the ribs its sides, and
the breast-bone its floor or bottom : all which parts are more or less
excavated or rendered concave in their shape internally, in order
that its cavity may be as extensive in every direction as the
nature of the fabric will allow. The smooth bodies of the ver-
tebrse are the parts presented to the interior of the chest, from
which proceed, on either side, the ribs, describing in their course
downward so many elliptical arches abutting upon the breast-bone.
The foremost arches are short and straightened ; the middle, large
and circular ; the hindermost ones diminishing in length, and be-
coming straight again. Altogether, the chest presents in the skeleton

30 FORM AND ACTION.

a conical figure : small and contracted in front ; broad, deep, and
capacious in the middle and posterior regions.

The connexion between the ribs and the bones of the spine
is by means of small joints which admit of a limited hinge-like
motion between them ; but to the breast-bone the ribs are attached
by distinct cartilages — long pieces of gristle, so formed as to appear
like a continuation of the ribs themselves, and virtually, indeed,
to answer in some respects a like purpose ; for they complete the
inclosure inferiorly, and to the contained parts offer, to the extent
they reach, as effectual protection as the ribs would give. But
they serve purposes bones could not answer. They enable the
ribs to enjoy that motion, outwardly, which their joints with the
vertebrae intended they should have, for the purposes of respira-
tion ; they also enable the ribs to accommodate themselves, by
partial turns, twists, and inclinations, to the various movements of
the animal : further, by their own elasticity, they endow the ribs
with that power of yielding, that high degree of resiliency, which
proves the means of their resisting fracture in hundreds of instances
where, without the cartilages, fracture must have ensued. The
blows, the pressure, the squeezes, the hard rubs, the ribs get,
would over and over again break them to shatters were it not for
their cartilages. How rarely do we hear of a horse getting his
ribs broken, even from the heaviest falls, from the hardest blows,
from the greatest weight imposed upon them ! — when any shock of
this description is given, we hear a sudden burst of air from the
chest, occasioning momentary exhaustion ; but we rarely indeed
find it productive of fracture of the ribs. Far other and fatal must
have been the consequences had the entire rib been one solid
piece of bone : to say nothing about the difficulty any act of exer-
tion must necessarily have occasioned in the breathing, any violent
blow or fall, or great weight jolted upon the back, must have
broken the ribs into pieces. On the other hand, had the ribs been
composed from end to end of cartilage solely, the form of the arch
could not have been sustained ; neither could the effects of blows,
or superimposed weight have been resisted ; but, sooner or later,
the arches must have become bent inwards, and so encroached
upon the cavity of the chest as to have compressed the organs of
respiration and circulation to that degree that could not but have

THE CHEST. 31

ended in suffocation and death of the animal. It was only the
judicious and well-arranged combination of bone and gristle in the
construction of the chest that could answer all the various ends
an all-wise Providence had in view.

The chest being the repository for the organs of respiration and
circulation — the lungs and heart — the grand point for the con-
sideration of the horseman, in judging of a horse in respect to it,
is, its form or its capacity, the one being inferred from the other.
It is natural to suppose that the largest lungs and heart inhabit the
largest chests, and, cceteris paribus, that horses possessing them
must also enjoy advantage in wind, as well as such other advan-
tages as are found to accrue from an ample respiration and circu-
lation : upon this, in fact, principally depend his powers of exer-
tion and endurance, as also his constitutional disposition to make
and maintain condition. Now, capacity of chest will be derived
from breadth, depth, and length of the cavity.

Breadth of Chest is the result of circularity in the arches of
the ribs : hence a broad and a circular chest amount to the same
thing, or have only this difference, that, the breadth not being,
always in the part where it ought to be, may be present without or
with only a part of the circularity. For example, a horse that has
a circular chest will have thick or strong shoulders, and a broad back
and breast ; but in another, the ribs may curve well out from the
spine, giving breadth of back and thick shoulders, but afterwards
turn suddenly inward and proceed to the brisket with hardly any
further curvature ; the result of which is that such a formed chest
is defective, not only in depth, but in width likewise, except just at
the superior part. When the ribs proceed from the spine to the
breast-bone with very little arch or curvature outwards, the animal
becomes narrow-chested, or, as it is pertinently expressed, flat-
sided. In a well-formed chest the arches the ribs form from one
abutment to the other are pretty regularly elliptical, and at their
inferior ends are lengthened out so as to give as much depth to
the cavity as is compatible with the general fabric : the curvatures
of the ribs are conspicuous behind the elbows, and the rider feels
he has, when mounted, a good clutch between his legs. The broad
or circular chest being that which affords the most internal space — ■
most room for the operations of the contained organs, out of which

3*2 FORM AND ACTION.

result, wind, and strength, and stamina — it has ever been through-
out the animal world considered a point of the greatest desidera-
tion. We see it associated with good wind and bodily strength in
numerous quadrupeds, in fowls, in man even : we have only to
contrast the circular chest of the bull-dog with the narrow one of
the greyhound ; that of the goose with the turkey's ; and one man
in this respect with another ; and we shall have striking evidence
of a fact of which it would be easy to multiply examples ad infini-
tum. It is upon this same principle of conformation that farmers,
and graziers, and cattle dealers, proceed in their selection and
judgment of stock — not for purposes of wind and strength, so much
as for their known constitutional powers to grow fat, their dispo-
sition to feed kindly, and to turn out such in the hands of the
butcher as others, differently formed, with double and treble the
quantity of food, would never become : indeed, form of chest has
grown into a consideration of the first importance with the agri-
culturist, and by him has been turned to a most useful and profit-
able account. And to the horseman, is it no mean advantage for
him to possess a horse with good stamina — strong wind and con-
stitution— one that will do double the work of another, and do that
work upon comparatively little or indifferent provender 1 But, in
his case, joined with this consideration, is another, one of equal or
more import still, and that is, action. Can the horse with the
circular chest perform — make use of his limbs — as well as one
with a chest differently formed 1 Can he go as free and as fast 1
We must answer, No ! The breadth of his chest, will be disad-
vantageous to the action of his fore limbs; and, therefore, we
must be content to make a sacrifice in one respect that we may
be gainers in another. Nature, however, even in this apparent
" dilemma, has made a provision, by giving

Depth to the Chest : a formation which greatly compen-
sates for deficiency in breadth, while it enables the animal to use
his fore limbs with all the freedom and effect required. Be sure
to look for plenty of depth in the chest : it is a most important
point, where we cannot have breadth or circularity, and where
speed or action is demanded. Nowhere in nature is the design
of this or that form of chest more strikingly and beautifully shewn
than in the different breeds of horses. The cart-horse is admired

THE CHEST. 33

for his " fine round barrel," and his " broad, full, fleshy bosom :"
the racer, for his " great depth of chest," without that breadth and
consequent seposition of the shoulders, which would diminish his
facility of progression. In both cases — as in the bull-dog and grey-
hound— there is ample girth of chest, and, therefore, space enough
for the play of the lungs and heart, though the circular admeasure-
ment is obtained in different ways ; the one animal being seldom
required to go out of a footpace, the other being intended to trot,
to gallop, to race. Observe how awkwardly and clumsily the
cart-horse gallops, or even trots; and with what agility the thorough-
bred glides along in his canter or speed ! Only exchange their chests,
however, and mark what would happen ! The result is sufficiently
shewn in what we see in cart-horses with deep and narrow chests,
and in circular-chested race-horses : the one is " all abroad" in his
gallop, and cannot go " any pace at all ;" the other has not the sub-
stance about his shoulders and neck a horse for heavy and labo-
rious draught ought to possess.

Length of Chest,* in general, is not a desirable point in a
horse, because it is commonly combined with shortness of rib, and
consequent deficiency in the vertical diameter of the cavity, or else
with flat-sidedness and narrowness of the area : where, however,
we find the ribs of their requisite length and proper span, and where
the interval between the last rib and the hip-bone is but short —
which by horse people is called being " ribbed home," or " well ribbed
up" — then the length of chest is what all judges in horses will not
fail to admire. The space between the last rib and the hip or
haunch-bone forms the part denominated the flank. When this is
lengthy, and the flank in consequence loose or tucked up, the horse
is said to be loose or slack in his loins ; though, in point of fact, it
is the flank and not the loin, which is " loose" or " slack :" at the
same time be it observed, it is the circumstance of the loin being
commonly defective in such formations that has led to the phrase-
ology. Depth, and length, and breadth of chest, with other struc-
tures in accordance, will insure enduring speed, with wind and
bottom in its possessor. One of the most remarkable instances I
ever saw of this perfection of chest was in the famous old mare,
Fleurs-de-Lis, the property of George the Fourth : she had one of
the deepest chests and finest shoulders, perhaps, ever seen ; and

34 FORM AND ACTION7.

for her qualifications and performances I need hardly refer any
sporting man of the present day to the Records of Racing.

Before quitting this part of my subject, I would say a word or
two concerning what is well understood among horse-men by the
phrase " girth" of a horse, i. e. what he measures round in that
part of his body usually encircled by the girths. So deceptive is
this measure apt to be, that even the best judges are not unfre-
quently a good deal out in their opinion about the dimensions of
horses' chests : I have often myself been surprised to find one horse
measuring more than another whom I had regarded as a much
larger chested horse. It is, therefore, in all cases, where any doubt
arises, a good plan to refer to the rollers or girths, which afford
never-failing tests of the true circumferent admeasurement : we
may always learn from the groom that such a horse buckles up
two or three holes tighter in his roller than such another; or
that the girths which fitted the former are altogether too short or
too long for the present occupier of his stall.

The Breast, as the front part of the chest is called — " the
bosom," as it is wrongly and absurdly named by some — is a point
worth our attention. It should possess breadth and fulness; the
breast-bone should be prominent, and the sides of it well filled in
with plumpness ; the action of the fore limbs, as we shall see by
and by, a good deal depending upon the formation and substance
of the breast. When the breast is wide, the fore legs will be
far apart, as we see instanced in the cart-horse and bull-dog ; and,
in consequence of the arches of the ribs being circular and project-
ing, the elbows are very apt to be turned outwards : a position of
limb — to say nothing about its seposition from its fellow — very
unfavourable for progression. On the other hand, when the breast
is narrow, the fore limbs are approximated — seem, to use a dealer's
expression, " as though they both issued out of one hole." This
conformation favours speed, but on several accounts is highly objec-
tionable. When the breast is narrow, the chest is so likewise ; the
animal is flat-sided; and his fore legs are placed so near together
that, in action, they are continually striking each other, occasion-
ing sores or bumps upon the fetlocks, speedy-cut, and other an-
noyances ; not to mention the weedy make and want of stamina
such a horse will evince. Dealers in cart-horses are very particu-

THE BELLY. 35

lar in their search after stock " with good," i. e. full and ample,
breasts; they well know the value of such a point, and the
dependence to be placed upon it in indicating a good or bad
worker. With nags and others we are not in the habit, I should
say, of paying sufficient attention to it. Although we may not re-
quire— had rather not have — a broad chest, yet cannot the breast
be too fleshy or prominent. A lean-breasted horse cannot fail
of being weak in his fore limbs, if he be not in his hind too.
When I speak of a prominent breast, however, I do not mean one
that projects so much forward that the fore legs appear to recede
from it underneath the body, making the animal what is called
" stand over;" for this shews faulty position of the fore limbs, and
a sort of unnatural lengthiness about the fore parts of the breast,
which cannot but prove disadvantageous in progression. I shall
revert to this point when I come to speak of the position of the
^fore limbs.

THE BELLY.

This being a part which has no existence in the skeleton, would
hardly, with propriety, be considered by us in this place, were it
not intimately associated in its formation with the chest, and so
dependent upon it for its form and size, that we seem called upon
to transgress the rule of procedure we had set ourselves at the
beginning.

The chest and belly, in inseparable union, constitute the body.
Exteriorly, we can with difficulty determine where one begins
and the other ends ; but when we come to dissect the body, we
find that, interiorly, their cavities are altogether separate, being
divided by a broad and complete partition of fleshy substance.
The size or bulk of the belly, for the most part, is regulated by
the dimensions and form of the chest ; though, in many instances,
one is large, while the other is comparatively small. In a horse
that is " ribbed up," or " ribbed home," the belly receives so much
more support from the posterior ribs than when the interval be-
tween the last rib and hip-bone is long, that, with the chest, it
appears, under all circumstances, to preserve a sort of indivisible
union and never-varying proportion. But such horses as are short-

36 FORM AND ACTION.

chested, or long or loose loined, and as are, according to the text
we have prefixed, " at the same time great feeders, will soon dis-
tend their bellies to such a degree that it will be impossible for their
entrails to be contained within their ribs ; so they will press down,
and form what is called ' a cow's belly.' " Upon such a horse, in
consequence of the large circumferent measure posteriorly, and the
diminished size of the girth round the brisket, the saddle is fre-
quently riding forwards and the girths becoming loose ; the only
stay to the saddle being a crouper, or girthing tight enough round
the middle of the belly to form a sort of indentation in that part,
neither of which expedients is very pleasant to the horse or his
rider. Opposed to this kind of formation of body is that in which,
from want of length, or rather convexity, in the middle ribs, the
circumferent measure decreases all the way from the place of girth-
ing to the flanks : the consequence of which is, that the horse is
continually slipping his roller and running through his clothes.
It is always a sign of good make when a horse " carries his saddle
well ;" it shews that his back is properly formed, and that he is
not encumbered with " a cow's belly." It also looks well when
the roller keeps its place, at least when the circumstance is not
solely referrible to size or distention of belly.

A LIGHT-CARCASSED, or heron-gutted horse, is commonly weak
in constitution and defective in physical powers, and altogether
unfit for every purpose where strength and endurance, or hard work,
is required. Any extra exertion will take him off his feed ; and,
in addition, he is very likely to evince a timid, nervous, or fidgetty
temper. A horse of this description may answer for the park or
promenade, and be, with a rider who is not disconcerted or annoyed
by his temper, even a favourite, though for real service or work he
is next, to valueless. We should, however, take care to make a
distinction between a light-carcassed horse whose chest is deep, and
so far good, and one that has neither chest nor belly to boast of;
but, " without middle piece," appears all legs. The former may
be a good feeder, and, should he possess this property, will perhaps,
in spite of his lightness of belly, turn out to possess some stamina;
the latter never can be worth any thing. Indeed, when there is
good depth of chest, as regards speed in galloping — for racing —
this greyhound form of body appears advantageous, not only from

THE LEGS. 37

the circumstance of the animal having less burthen to carry, but
because, with the length and looseness of loin with which it is
commonly associated, it adds to the facility and extent of the stride,
allowing of the fuller accomplishment of that projection of the
hind legs which tells so much in galloping progression. On the
other hand, a horse that is wanted not more for speed than endur-
ance, for heavy and hard hunting, or for any purpose of strength
or lasting, must not possess this receding carcass and looseness of
loin : he must be well ribbed up, and short in his flanks, and let
down in his belly ; must, to use the dealer's well-known phrases,
possess " a good bread-basket," and look " as if he always carried
his dinner with him." A horse so made, indeed, can hardly ever
appear tucked up : the muscles forming the flanks are too short to
contract much, and the ribs are too near the hips to admit of much
compression of the bowels. After a long and fatiguing day with
hounds, a horse with loose flanks and loins will appear as though
he were " cut in two," as the saying goes : whereas, a horse well
ribbed up, will hardly, after the same, shew any signs of work.
What is understood by the phrase " constitution," under which is
comprehended the power of standing work and of " coming again,"
or performing a great deal in a given time, cannot exist in any
horse devoid or defective of middle piece.

LECTURE IV.

THE LEGS.

" The legs of a horse should have a due proportion in their length and
strength to the weight and size of the carcass." — Farrier's Dictionary.

A SORT of general division may be made of the component
pieces of the animal machine into parts supported and parts sup-
porting, or, as having reference to loco-motion, into parts moved
and parts moving. The body or trunk, including the appendage
of the head and neck, which we have already considered, con-
stitutes one division, while the four limbs, which we are now
about to discourse on, make up the other.

38 FORM AND ACTION.

As far as steady and stable support be the object, it will readily
be admitted that four legs are better than three, and that two "by
no means could be made to answer the purpose of four, or even
three : a three-legged form stands not so firmly as one with four
legs ; and though one with two legs may be contrived so as to
stand alone, yet the slightest force disturbs its centre of gravity,
and it falls ; so little power of balancing itself is it found to
possess. The three-legged table or stool, from its being circular
or triangular, will stand as firmly as though it had four supporters ;
but the square table or oblong form requires four legs, one at each
corner or salient angle, or two at either side, to give it the full and
firm support of which by the carpenter's art it proves to be sus-
ceptible. Six or eight legs would nothing augment the stability
or safety of the form, and but little its strength : every projecting
part has already its prop of support, and the intermediate parts,
unless the form be one of extraordinary length, require none. Thus
it is with the animal body. Its oblong formation demanded four
supporters, two before and two behind : three would not have
given it the stability and power of resistance it at present pos-
sesses ; and again, to have added two legs more, would have
nothing increased the security of the standing posture, and but
little the powers of support, while loco-motion must by such an
addition necessarily have become more or less complicated and
impeded.

It is seldom that the horse, while at rest, employs all his legs
in maintaining the standing posture : commonly, one of the hind
limbs will be found flexed — in a state of relaxation and repose,
propping up the body passively only — while the other three re-
main extended : in this position, changing the flexed hind-leg from
time to time, a horse will not only take his rest, but will sleep ; no
vigil or attention of the will being required to keep him upon his
legs. Some horses never lie down — never appear to require re-
cumbent repose.

Another reason why Nature has given four legs to the quad-
ruped, is, that he may be enabled in progression to steadily poise
himself upon three of them, while the fourth is in motion off the
ground. Not merely in the walk and trot, but even in the gallop,
is the action of the legs, both in leaving and coming to the ground,

THE LEGS. 39

alternate ; and though two or three, or even all four feet may be
in the air at the same instant of time, they never leave the ground
nor alight upon it again simultaneously : by such a mode of action
the purposes of progression are excellently served on the one hand,
while on the other, the machine experiences no such concussion as
it would have done had there existed but three legs, or had two of
them come to the ground simultaneously, as is the case sometimes
in gallopping and leaping.

One advantage more accruing from the gift of four over a less
number of legs is, that, having two before and two behind, the
quadruped is enabled to use either pair as weapons of defence : the
horse can rear or kick against his enemy; indeed, the hind legs
may be said to be the horse's especial armaments against his foes.
Some animals use their fore-legs in the way we do our arms,
having claws instead of hoofs, which serve them after the manner
of fingers : this they could not do were they not provided with
two hind-legs, upon which they have the power of sitting or sup-
porting themselves while their fore-limbs are otherwise employed.

The Position, as well as the number of the limbs of the
quadruped, evinces excellent contrivance of design. Not only
have the limbs to support the body, but they have to carry it
from place to place, and at the same time to move themselves
under their burthen with more or less velocity. In a three-legged
stool, or in a four-legged form or table, the legs are placed at the
circumferent parts or projecting angles, as far apart as possible
from each other, the objects being to extend the base or standing,
and at the same time avoid the risk of the legs coming at any
time, from weight imposed too near the edge, within the centre of
gravity, and thereby proving incapable of saving the stool or table
from upsetting. In these cases stability and strength is all that is
required ; but in the instance of the vital machine, not only are
strength and stability needed, but facility of motion likewise;
and extension of the sphere of the base or standing, which would
have better insured the one, would have added difficulties or im-
pediments in the way of the other.

Nature has placed her props of support at the extreme points
or salient angles of the animal machine, and longitudinally has

40 FORM AND ACTION.

extended the sphere of the base, but laterally has narrowed the
body, and approximated the limbs, in order that the superincum-
bent burthen might as little as possible incommode them in their
motions forwards and backwards, during progression.

When speaking of the chest, I observed, that the wider that
cavity was made, the farther the two fore limbs must necessarily
be thrown apart. This cannot fail to have an effect both on the
standing and on the progression of the animal. A broad-chested
horse — a cart or dray horse — stands more securely than a narrow-
chested horse : his base of standing is wider, his props of support
being farther removed from the centre of gravity. But, when the
machine comes to be moved, the limbs thus widely separated will
not operate with the same effect as others more directly under the
centre of gravity — will not carry their load with the same advan-
tage, nor will they act so straight-forwardly or so harmoniously
together. The racer and the cart-horse, the greyhound and the
bull-dog, and, among bipeds, the turkey and the goose, as I before
stated, strikingly illustrate this point of structure in their make
and in the gait or action arising out of it : to mark this difference
we have but to compare the straight stealing-onward step of the
racer with the round and short step of the dray-horse ; the steady
smooth canter of the greyhound with the rolling gait of the bull-
dog ; the pointed parade-like walk of the pea-fowl or the turkey
with the waddle of the duck or goose. Nay, I might adduce even
the human body — the woman with her broad hips, the man with
his straight or narrow ones — to shew what a difference in the gait
results from the limbs being thrown apart at the axes of their
motions.

LENGTH of Limb is likewise to be considered. Short legs
are in general preferred, because in themselves they indicate su-
perior strength, and because, by nature, they are associated with
depth of chest and carcass, and other signs of stamina and dura-
bility ; but the long limb possesses advantages in stride and lever-
age, and therefore, where speed is required, becomes a desirable
formation. The length of limb must very much depend on the
purpose the animal is destined for : a long leg would be as ill
adapted for a cart-horse, or a horse to carry weight, as a short one

THE LKGS. 41

would be for a racer. In speaking of the body, I observed that
the animal must have length, as well as power, to become fleet :
"to get over the ground" length becomes absolutely necessary
in the propelling parts of the machine, and these are the loins and
the limbs. To be sure, we do occasionally meet with horses with
long limbs and short bodies — the Persian horses I have seen have
been of this description ; but such are rare and undesirable con-
formations; the limbs, as I observed in a former lecture, doing too
much for the body, or rather, the latter restricting them in their
action. People in general make objection to horses with undue
length of limb : such a horse has " too much daylight underneath
him to be good for any thing" is a common expression enough in
these cases; and, prima facie — and in nine cases, perhaps, out
of ten — these people are correct in their disapprobation. But,
every now and then comes a horse before us with all this apparent
objectionable sub-corporeal "daylight," and yet with extraordi-
nary power in his long limbs, with circularity in his chest though
it be not deep, and with the known character of being " a good
feeder after work ;" and when such a horse does present himself,
we may, should he possess breeding, regard him, notwithstanding
his long legs and light body, as an animal of a rare and valuable
description. His legs having but little to carry, are therefore
likely to "wear well;" but what is of the greatest consequence
as a hunter or racer, he is likely to prove a fleet horse, and withal
a good-winded horse. I have known horses whom, looking at
their " herring guts" and long legs, nobody would have purchased,
and yet, from their being in possession of the qualities hereinbefore
mentioned, that have turned out most valuable acquisitions. I
mention these facts to shew that one ought not hastily to reject a
horse with long limbs and their ordinary accompaniment, a light
carcass.

The Fore-Legs.

The two fore-limbs — extremities, as they are often called by
professional persons — differ essentially from the hind ones in their
superstructures ; though their lower members and their pedestals
are similar one to another. There is no resemblance, for instance,

G

42

FORM AND ACTION.

FIG. III.

between the shoulders and the haunches, little between the arms
and the thighs ; but below the knees and hocks, all the four legs
are constituted alike.

The divisions of the fore-extremity
are, the shoulder {a, b), the arm (c, d), the
cannon (e), the pastern (f), the coronet
(g), and the foot (h): the joints are, the
shoulder-joint (3, 4), the elbow-joint (n),
the knee (o), the fetlock (p), the pastern-
joint (q), the navicular -joint (r), and the
coffin-joint (s). Each fore-limb is com-
posed of twenty-one pieces or separate
bones : — two compose the shoulder, the
scapula or blade-bone (a) and the hume-
rus (b) ; two, the arm, the radius (d) and
the ulna (c) ; eight small bones (o, z), the
knee ; three, the leg, the cannon (e) and
two splint-bones (t) ; two, the fetlock,
the sesamoid-bones (p); one, the pastern,
the pastern-bone (f) ; one, the coronet,
the coronet-bone (g); and two, the foot,
the coffin (A) and the navicular-bone (r).
Some of these bones are long, some short;
some are cylindroid, some flattened in
shape ; some are obliquely, others per-
pendicularly placed : all are connected
one to another in such manner as to form
sorts of hinges or joints between them,
from which they derive various kinds and
degrees of motion.
Viewing the bones of the fore-limb in their natural position
we find that, instead of its component pieces being ranged in
perpendicular lines, one upon the other, some of them form an-
gles with each other, while others descend in straight lines, direct
from the body towards the ground. The two bones composing
the shoulder, for instance, are angularly disposed; the arm and
cannon bones constitute straight shafts of support ; but the pas-
terns strike off in an oblique direction, at an obtuse angle, and

THE LEGS— THE SHOULDER. 43

thus convey the superincumbent weight to the ground. This
peculiarity in the direction given to the different bones we shall
find has its uses. One grand object to be accomplished in the
formation of the limbs was, to save them from the effects of the
concussion which, in sustaining so great a weight as the body in
action — occasionally surcharged too with a burthen in addition —
must otherwise have fractured their component bones ; nay, crushed
such as are of a fragile texture into pieces. Another object, in
the angular formation of the pasterns, has been, as we shall dis-
cover hereafter, to enable them, in a measure, to compensate for all
absence of any thing like active foot-hold property in the hoofs of
the horse.

The Shoulder.

No individual part of the animal frame, in the estimation of
horse-people, calls for greater demands on their judgment than
this : a good or a bad shoulder is held to be of paramount import-
ance to the animal's riding or going in such a form as is pleasant
to his rider, and as tells in action and safety as regards himself.
The connoisseur steps up to the horse for sale, in his stall, and by
simply carrying his eye over his shoulder and placing his hand
upon his withers, determines at once his qualifications, either for
saddle or harness, and whether he be such a nag as is likely to suit
him for the purposes he requires. Before, however, I attempt to
shew by what art this "judge of horses" so summarily and surely
arrives at this point of discernment, it will be necessary for us,
first, to dissect the shoulder and examine its component parts;
and, subsequently, to endeavour to analyze and understand its
action in progression.

In the skeleton, the shoulder consists of two bones — the scapula
and the humerus. The scapula or blade-bone — the same that we
find in a shoulder of mutton— is the proper shoulder-bone; the only
one in man and the monkey-tribe which constitutes the shoulder ;
the humerus being — as its name indicates — the arm bone : in the
horse, however, and in other quadrupeds, both bones go to the
formation of the part we call the shoulder. In an anatomical
point of view, the fore-leg of the quadruped corresponds with

44 FORM AND ACTION.

the arm of a man or a monkey, hence arise such differences in
their structure as we might expect to find from knowing how
vastly unlike they are in their economy : the arm of the quadru-
ped, in fact, becomes a leg ; the hand, a foot ; and the offices of both
altogether transposed. A man has it in his power to crawl or
walk upon his hands and feet somewhat after the manner of a
quadruped ; a monkey does so by nature, at the same time that he
possesses the power, to a certain degree, of erecting himself and
walking upon two legs like a man, and using his fore limbs after
the manner of arms : although, however, the monkey makes use
of his upper or anterior extremities in this double capacity, neither
in progression nor manipulation is he any thing like so perfect as
quadrupeds on the one side and man on the other. It is the
set-off of the humerus from the body — its connexion with the
trunk by the head alone — which, with a somewhat different form-
ation of joint between it and the scapula, enables the bone to
perform all the various motions we see the arm of a man capable
of: whereas, confined and bound to the sides of the ribs, as we be-
hold it in the quadruped, it is simply susceptible of pla}dng back-
wards and forwards, or, at least, of very little other kind of motion.
The scapula, being abroad flat bone, presents two large surfaces;
an inner one, which is uniform and smooth, and a little excavated
in order to adapt it the better to the convexities of the arches
of the ribs, against which it is applied ; and an outer one, having a
longitudinal ridge {Fig. Ill, 2, 3) running upon it, unequally dividing
it into two smaller surfaces. Between the scapula and the ribs there
is no joint — neither osseous nor ligamentary connexion, but only
a fleshy one : muscles alone attach the shoulders to the body ; and
as the body is supported anteriorly by the fore limbs, it follows
that thus much of the weight is borne by muscular action, or, at
least, by muscles becomes transmitted to the legs or pillars of sup-
port. A man by passing a knife between the scapula and the
ribs would easily sever these fleshy attachments, and in this man-
ner let fall the fore part of the trunk, and the head and neck along
with it, to the ground. This constitutes the essential difference
in their relations with the body between the fore and hind extre-
mities : while the latter are connected to the trunk and support
the hind parts of it through the medium of joints, the former hold

THE LEGS. 45

the body suspended, as it were, between them through the inter-
vention of muscle.

The scapula is a bone of a triangular shape, having two long
sides and one short : the latter, known as its base, is in situ turned
upwards ; its opponent angle, obtruncated and corresponding to
the apex, being turned downwards. The position of the bone
in relation to the body is oblique : its basis lies as far back as
against the seventh rib, while its apex is protruding forward enough
to be opposed to the first rib* : at least this appears to be the common
situation of the bone, it being evident that any increase or decrease
of obliquity must alter its relative apposition as regards the ribs.
We see horses with oblique shoulders, and with straight or upright
shoulders, and we shall find that the scapula varies in its degree of
inclination very materially in these two cases ; and that this varia-
tion constitutes one especial point on which depends the " goodness"
or " badness" of the horse's shoulder. Before, however, we can
comprehend the advantages and disadvantages of certain positions
of the scapula, it will be necessary for us to examine, both in
and out of its situation, the other component bone of the shoulder
— the humerus.

This is one of that class of bones termed cylindrical; and cylin-
droid, though irregularly shaped, it is. It is surmounted by a
spherical top, whose surface, the segment of a globe, is smooth and
polished, evidently for the purpose of playing, after the manner of
a spherical hinge, within a cup-like concavity occupying the place
of the apex of the scapula. There are no two bones in the skeleton
whose articular connexion is of a nature to admit more varied and
extensive motion than exists between the scapula and the humerus.
Let a man take a horse's fore-leg in his arms, and he will find that
he can not merely bring it forward and carry it backward, but can
also, to a considerable extent, make it perform a sort of rotatory
motion : and this, the latter especially, he is enabled to effect in
consequence of the mobility existing in the joint formed between
the ball or head of the humerus and the socket in the lower end
of the scapula.

The power of throwing the leg outwards or inwards in action, of
turning the toe out or in, of performing those motions in the manege
* Turn back to M The Skeleton;" page 7.

46 FORM AND ACTION.

r

called passaging or shouldering-in, mostly resides in the rotatory
motion possessed by this joint.

Viewing the relative positions of the bones of the fore-limb in the
standing posture {see Fig. Ill), we perceive that the two composing
the shoulder constitute, in situ, an angle of an obtuse character, hav-
ing two sides ; a superior, formed by the scapula ; an inferior and
shorter one, by the humerus : the point of the angle being turned
forwards. This oblique or angular arrangement is attended with
several manifest advantages. A larger extent of surface upon the
side of the body is occupied and embraced by the bones so dis-
posed, thus affording more extensive and firmer attachment of the
limb to the trunk. At the same time that this angular apposition
better ensures their connexion with the ribs, it likewise affords
the bones facility of motion upon each other, without risk of dis-
severation or detachment from the sides of the chest; for the
movements of the shoulders, which in action are considerable,
have to be carried on, not only while the foot is off the ground,
but at a time when all the weight of the body is imposed upon
them. Another advantage of the angle is the extensive border-
ing and powerful leverage offered for the attachment and operation
of muscle. Had the bones of the shoulder been placed upright or
perpendicularly, one upon the other, in the first place, they could
not have been made any thing like their present length; in the
second, their connexion with the body would not have been equally
secure ; and, in the third place, their movements upon each other
must have been comparatively restricted, giving rise to something
in the form of action in the fore-limbs a great deal worse than
that paddling sort of going which we denominate " pinned in the
shoulders." This will appear more intelligible after we have shewn
what is the nature of the motions or action of the shoulders.

The muscles attaching the scapulee to the sides of the chest
impart to the shoulders that strength which enables them to sup-
port the fore parts of the animal machine, and move under their
burthen with a facility that no joint or other contrivance could
have afforded them. The scapula or blade-bone, in the position
we behold it while the horse is standing, possesses — in relation to
an imaginary line let fall perpendicularly from the withers (see
Fig. IV, C D) — a degree of inclination or obliquity which varies

THE LEGS.

47

more or less almost in every individual: one horse is said to have
shoulders oblique, another to have them straight, depending on
the more or less inclined position of the blade-bones; and the
former is valued as a riding-horse, and justly so, while the other
is condemned and rejected. The reason of this will appear evi-
dent when we come to learn that every time the shoulder is put
in motion the scapula makes a sort of partial revolution on its
own centre or axis, which at first slightly depresses, but instantly
afterwards elevates and advances its base or upper part, while its
lower part or obtruncated apex, which was at the commencement of
the movement advanced, recedes until the scapula has nearly or
quite revolved into a straight or upright position. The more ob-
lique the original position of the scapula the greater will be its
revolving sweep, and the more free and extensive the action of the
shoulder, as will appear evident from the following diagram : —
c

FIG. IV.

Taking the graduated quadrant A B to represent the arc the
scapula describes in its imperfect revolution, it is manifest that,
setting the limit of its motion forward at the figure 1, its sphere of
revolution will be increased in proportion as its inclination or
obliquity is greater at the commencement : a scapula whose base
inclines to number 7 in the scale will have two degrees of extent
of action more than one which only reaches number 5, and two less
than one whose base descends so low as the 9th degree.

The first movements of the shoulder-bones, those that lift the
limb off the ground and advance it, consist in a limited revolution

48 FORM AND ACTION.

of the scapula, in which its base turns backward and downward,
its apex forward and upward, and in a simultaneous flexion and
elevation of the humerus, the effect of which is to diminish the
distance (represented in Fig. IV by the dotted line e) between it
and the scapula. The projection of the limb in front of the body
is effected by an extension of the humerus on the scapula, and,
in rapid or forced movements, by an advance (not a revolution) of
the scapula as well: but the instant the foot is grounded and
becomes a fixed point and fulcrum, the scapula commences a
counter-revolution, its base moving forward and upward, its apex
backward and downward, and the humerus returns to its original
semi-flexed position. Whether the limb moves upon the body, the
foot being off the ground, or the body moves upon the limb, the
foot being on the ground, in either case the scapula is in motion,
its revolution, in regard to its summit, being backward and down-
ward in one case, forward and upward in the other.

The length, as well as the obliquity, of the scapula will have
an influence on the action of the shoulder, it being manifest that a
body revolving upon its own centre must describe arcs or sweeps
great in proportion to its length ; hence the value of a deep
shoulder : though, as regards the scapula itself, the muscles at-
tached to and moving it will necessarily be short in a case where
the bone is disproportionately long, and vice versa. When the
scapula is placed nearly upright, or is of disproportionate short-
ness, there cannot be that extent or freedom of action in the
shoulders; neither can there be that projecture of the limb that
there is in opposite conformations. The movements of the fore
limbs are likely to be confined or imperfectly effected, and where
those of the hind limbs happen to be " good," or of a more perfect
kind — as is not infrequently the case — there will be great danger
of the horse being, by the comparatively superior action in the
agents of progression, precipitated forwards.

A good shoulder not only possesses depth and obliquity, but,
to complete its perfection, " lie well into the body." How often
do we discover upon the superficies of the shoulder a rising a little
below and behind the withers, marking the situation of the sum-
mit or base of the scapula. In the generality of instances this
arises from the ribs being arched in that part, which precludes the

THE SHOULDER. 49

possibility of the scapula being properly accommodated to them :
a flattened body applied against one that is convex must necessa-
rily project as the latter recedes from it; and the only way in
which this can be obviated is, either to diminish or alter the
convexity, or to give to the straight body a concave form ; both of
which accommodations are seen exemplified in what we call "good-
shouldered horses." The rising is caused by the top of the sca-
pula standing out from the convexity of the ribs : where this is
not the case, the surface appears and feels uniformly level, and,
where muscles or fat abound, is so smooth that we in vain seek
the traces of the scapula through the skin. The uprightness and
the length of the scapula likewise, in some instances, operate in
producing the rising. In any case, the unevenness betrays mal-
proportion or mal-apposition of parts : in other words, would not
be present if all had been formed and fitted to perfection.

A shoulder, then, that possesses depth, obliquity, and uniformity,
is said to be " good ;" and for the purposes of those springy
actions and paces which are most agreeable to and admired by
the rider, good it most unquestionably is : it is good for action,
good for speed, good for spring, and as a point of beauty is verita-
bly indispensable. Still, though this be confessedly the proto-
type, we are not to set all other kinds and descriptions of shoulders
down as faulty and objectionable. For the carriage of heavy bur-
then, and for heavy draught, I believe a straight or upright and
rather short shoulder, provided it possesses the necessary sub-
stance or muscularity, to be advantageous : laborious draught does
not admit either of a horse taking long steps or of going at any
but a slow pace ; and on abstract mechanical principles, a horse
whose shoulder is short and upright is capable of supporting more
weight upon his fore limbs than another in whom it is lengthy and
oblique : the sharper the angle formed between the scapula and
the humerus, and again between the humerus and radius, the
weaker, as props of support, must the fore limbs be considered.
A horse, therefore, with a short upright shoulder is, cceferis pari-
bus, actually stronger in his fore parts than one possessing what
we might call a good or handsome shoulder; Here, in fact, as in
many other instances that might be mentioned, we have on the
one side, action,. — and with it spring — on the other, strength ; and,

H

50 FORM AND ACTION.

as I said before, for cart or dray horses, where heavy draught is
required, or for animals wanted to carry heavy loads, the short
and upright shoulder is to be preferred to the lengthy and oblique
structure.

The connoisseur is quite correct in his observation — " Such a
horse cannot ride, short and straight — for the two properties are
commonly associated — as his shoulders are :" but let him not on
this account reject the animal as useless : it is, as I said before, the
sort of shoulder for harness, and for supporting weight, providing
it possesses the required muscularity, and providing the horse has
action with it : for, be it observed here, though action may be re-
garded as the natural product of an oblique shoulder, yet are there
many instances where it is found to result from opposite conforma-
tions, as well as instances of its absence where one would from ap-
pearances prognosticate it to be present. This discrepancy between
form and action it is that is so often baffling our judgment and
furnishing us with physiological problems which, on too many
occasions, we find ourselves unable to solve : nevertheless, the
subject, intricate and difficult as it is, shall receive some attention
when I come to speak of " action."

Let the action of the horse be what it may, however, should
the shoulders be upright we may be certain of the loss of spring
in his movements being such as to make him any thing but easy
or accommodating in his paces to his rider : he is complained
of as being " a rough trotter" — "a bone-setter;" and the higher
his action happens to be, the greater will be the concussion. Mr.
Youatt has compared the spring produced by the play of the
scapula upon the humerus to the spring of a carriage ; and in its
operation it is a happy illustration of this piece of animal me-
chanism : the only difference being that in the coach-spring the
elasticity resides in the steel of which the spring is manufactured ;
whereas the bones derive their spring from the elasticity of the
material — ligament — by which they are connected together, and
of that — muscle — by which they are united to the body.

We have been considering the depth of the shoulder and the
position of the bones composing it, and in the course of our in-
quiries have noticed its substance or muscularity : we will now
explain what we mean by

THE SHOULDER. 51

Thickness and Thinness of Shoulder, and investigate the
relative advantages and disadvantages of these counter-formations.
A notion very prevalent among horse-people is, that the shoulder
cannot be too thin or " fine," as they call it ; and that a thick or
" loaded" shoulder is only fit for harness. In these remarks truth
is mingled with error, and it shall be our business to endeavour
to distinguish and separate them. To set about our investigation
systematically, let us first inquire what constitutes this thickness
or thinness; — to what kinds of conformation the terms are ap-
plicable, or what they are commonly used to denote. A person
grasps the withers of a horse with his hand, and at once pro-
nounces his shoulders "thick" or "thin:" thin or fine, should
the withers stand high and can be included between his fingers
and thumb ; thick, should the withers appear buried between the
shoulders, or be so broad across that the span of the hand can with
difficulty grasp them: in the former case, we grasp nothing but the
spinous processes of the dorsal vertebrae ; in the latter, we appear
to include the scapulas as well; hence the thinness in one instance,
the thickness in the other. There exists in such horses either in-
ordinate length or shortness of spinous processes, inordinate length
or shortness of scapula, or an unusual height or lowness of one or
both of them, in situ, owing to their position. "The razor-back," as
it is called, is the most remarkable instance of inordinately long spin-
ous processes, and this is commonly combined with obliquity, and
consequent lowness of the base of the scapula : altogether, presenting
an example of " a fine shoulder ;" though of one that often proves
on examination to be strangely deficient in substance. These razor-
backs and fine shoulders are frequently seen in very old horses :
indeed, it is a common observation, that " shoulders grow fine
with age ;" the interpretation of which appears to be, that the
shoulders participate in that general process of absorption which is
known to pervade the animal frame during the decline of life.
In young horses, at the growing time of life, the shoulders are
thick by nature, and do not, until the adult period is completed,
attain that degree of thinness or fineness which they in after-life
are found to possess ; coupled with which fact, and in corrobora-
tion of it, stands the observation so current among breeders and
dealers, that their colts are certain to " rise" and " fine" in their

52 FORM AND ACTION.

shoulders ; and which is now, by all purchasers of young horses
conversant in such matters, received as a general law of Nature,
to which exceptions are comparatively rare. In my next lecture I
hope to be able to shew, in a statistical manner, to what extent, and
at what age, such growth may be expected to take place : in the
mean time I would observe, in reference to it, that it appears to
consist mainly or entirely in a shooting-up of the spinous pro-
cesses of the vertebrae. We see the colt with thick clumsy
shoulders in consequence of his scapula? reaching as high as the
tops of his spinous processes : we examine him grown to a horse,
and find him with finely-formed shoulders — with scapulae no higher
than they qught to be, and with withers admirably raised ; and,
withal, we discover on admeasurement that he has actually risen
one or two inches in the withers after, to a common observer, he
might have been supposed to have attained his perfect growth.

LECTURE V.

THE SHOULDER (continued).

ALL "judges of horses" concur in the necessity, for the purposes
of riding, for depth and obliquity of shoulder : if there be any dis-
crepancy in opinion among such persons, it consists in one prefer-
ring a strong, another a fine shoulder. Even this, however, can
hardly be said to amount to any division of judgment ; for the thin
shoulder will not, with "true judges," gain admiration unless it
possess depth and strength ; nor will the thick one be altogether
approved unless it rise at the withers ; in a word, we shall find
what is considered by judges on both sides to constitute perfection
of shoulder, to reside in a happy combination of depth and obli-
quity with strength and fineness; and if we desire any confirmation
of this, we have only to make our observations on horses known to
ride and go as horses ought to perform — on celebrated hunters,
horses in Leicestershire and in all our capital studs, who in form
are, nowadays, bred as near to perfection as, probably, it is possible
for art to attain. I say " bred," because perfection of shoulder, like
all animal formation, has manifestly been greatly promoted by at-
tention to breeding.

THE SHOULDER. 53

In a racer — although there are race-horses enow in whom this
formation exists and operates in its greatest beauty and perfection —
the shoulder is not to be considered so much as the hind quarters
and loins. Daily observation shews us, that the shoulder may be
any thing but perfect in formation, and yet possess a good deal of
action — that, as I said before, we are not advanced to that knowledge
of shoulders which will enable us to pronounce on a horse's action
by bare inspection of them : we cannot positively say his action will
turn out very bad, or must prove very good ; we pretend to know
nothing for certain until the horse is put into action, and then, pos-
sibly, we may discover reasons why his action proves so much
better or so much worse than we had anticipated. Many excellent
racers have what we should call any thing but perfect shoulders ;
their good qualities are amply accounted for in their round fleshy
loins and lengthy muscular hind quarters : on the contrar}r, many, I
repeat, possess as handsome and well-formed shoulders as can be
desired ; and when this occurs along with the requisite strength
and length in the hind parts, surely it must be regarded as a great
advantage, providing the action be fitting and commensurate.

But for Harness, or even for support of burthen, as I ob-
served in my last Lecture, the thick or heavy or loaded shoulder
is to be preferred to the one that is thin, or that is oblique : a horse
so formed is, cceteris paribus, actually stronger in his shoulders,
capable of carrying and drawing heavier loads ; in a word, better
formed for these duties. It is not compatible with animal power
to exert great strength in draught or carriage, and at the same
time step out much in action : the short step husbands the strength,
the long one expends it beyond the power of the animal to repeat
the act many times or for any continuance with the same effect.
It is no answer to this to say, we see horses with excellent action
drawing very heavy carriages and still displaying their action in
draught. Some horses, it is apparent enough, are in possession of
such strength even in action that, what would ordinarily be con-
sidered, a heavy load does not oppress them : still, as a general
rule, I have no fear in asserting, that both heavy carriage and
heavy draught at first cramps or limits, and ultimately tends to
habitually diminish action : the horse finds, with the enormous
weight behind or upon him, that he cannot, as he could before,
step out in action ; he perceives, if he does, that he soon exhausts

54 FORM AND ACTION.

his strength, cannot make way with his load, and therefore, com-
pulsorily, shortens, and at the same time quickens, his step, not
bending and rounding his legs in action as he did when out of
harness, or when his draught or burthen proved but light. I well
remember a little strong mare I used to drive in my four-wheel
chaise, who stepped out remarkably well and even went with great
freedom upon a level road ; but who, the moment she came to any
ascent or hill or bad piece of road, where she perceived the draught
heavy, would shorten her step and go pottering along as though
she had all at once fallen lame in her feet. In respect to the
uprightness or straightness of what we may now call " harness
shoulders," there seems to be some connexion between their form-
ation and the common remark in the mouths of coachmen, " the
collar cannot set too upright" in position : the straight shoulder
affords good reason for such advice, for the scapula and collar
will lie nearer in the same line, act therefore more harmoniously
together, and the horse, in consequence, will be likely to work not
only more agreeably to himself but with greater effect. If this be
the proper view to take of draught, so far as the harness-collar
and the scapula are concerned, the exposition may prove the
means of throwing some light on the " setting" of the former : the
remark of the coachman is founded on experience ; he knows well
that, in general, the collar cannot " set too upright," because —
a circumstance perhaps he does not heed — -his horses are in
general of that description that have thick straight shoulders :
when, however, the shoulders happen to be oppositely formed —
such as are better adapted for riding than for drawing — we sub-
mit, the coachman's remark must fall to the ground, it being ad-
visable, in such a case, that the set of the collar should be oblique — •
correspond, in fact, with the inclination of the scapula.

" A FINE SHOULDER" is a phrase among horse-people too often
apt to be misapplied. Because a horse happens to have very
great depth and obliquity in his shoulders, with high tapering
withers, he is often said to possess fine or perfect shoulders, when,
in reality, he probably lacks in them the very property of more
consequence than any other we have been considering, and that
is, muscularity. His shoulders are oblique and deep, and thin at
the withers ; but so bony are they, so deficient of flesh or muscle,
that the blade-bone appears as if it had no covering save the skin,

THE SHOULDER. 55

through which its outlines are sufficiently apparent to render the
horse a most desirable subject for any student of the anatomy of
the bone to make observations upon. Muscle-less, and consequently
weak as such shoulders are, horses having them often are en-
dowed with brilliant action, and, for riding, turn out most agree-
able ; to carry or draw weight however, or as hunters — or even as
racers, except for light weights and short distances — these horses
never can turn out of any value : unless they happen to have —
which is very seldom the case — extraordinary powers in their arms
and hind quarters, and width in the chest. But when the reverse
of this accompanies the thin or fleshless shoulder, however deep it
may be, however oblique, however fine upon the withers, for all
purposes where stability, strength, and endurance are required, it
is absolutely inefficient.

In the department of this important subject — the shoulder— I
will endeavour to redeem a promise I made at the conclusion of the
last lecture, viz. to shew that horses, after they have to the common
observer appeared to have completed their growth, do actually
" rise" or grow in their withers, even, in some scarce instances,
after the expiration of their seventh year.

So extremely variable and uncertain is found to be the growth
of animals, that it is with a full sense of the fallibility of our pre-
dictions that we, at any period of their lives, offer opinions about
the height they are likely to attain. I have heard a gentleman
very conversant and observant in these matters say, it is best not,
in purchasing horses, to make too sure of their growing after the
third year of their age ; and where colts at this age have the ap-
pearance of being proportioned, and, as the phrase goes, " set," this
is a practical hint which I hold to be well worthy of remembrance :
as a general observation, however, it by no means applies.* In our
table, 17 three-year-olds out of 144 appear not to have grown in
height, making a ratio of twelve per cent. Our faculty of forming
tolerably correct opinions concerning future growth will mainly
depend upon our opportunities of observation and the accuracy
with which we may make deductions. Growing young horses, like
growing boys and girls, are, as the phrase goes, " all legs and

* These remarks are meant to apply to general appearances ; and not to
have any reference to actual admeasurement.

56 FORM AND ACTION.

wings." An old saying is in vogue, that the future tallness of the
colt may be foretold by measuring the distance from the elbow to
the fetlock, and carrying the same measurement upwards from the
elbow upon the withers : both distances will be equal at the com-
pletion of growth ; whatever, therefore, is, at the time of admea-
surement, wanting in the upper line will have to be made up by
growth, or, in other words, will constitute what the animal has yet
to rise in the withers. A good deal of faith is put in this presumed
attainment of certain proportions ; and, for my own part, I can say
I now attach sufficient credit to it to put the comparative measure-
ment into experimental practice.* According to the table — com-
piled from the scanty, though not, I believe, faulty records I have at
hand — there is not more than one horse out of eight or nine that
does not continue his growth after the third or even the fourth year
of his age ; whereas, after the second year, the proportion dimi-
nishes to one in seventeen or eighteen ; and, at the fifth year, in-
creases to one in five or six. There are seven instances registered
of horses growing after six years old; and one after the seventh
year of age.

One instance stands recorded in the table of a two-year-old colt
having made the extraordinary rise of 1\ inches by the time he
had completed his growth. He measured 15 hands 3J inches as
a two-year-old, and at the adult period, seven or eight years of age,
had attained the enormous height of 17 hands 3 inches. He was
a long-legged, ill-proportioned animal, with high spirit and very
good carriage of himself, and for this latter reason proved a plea-
sant horse to ride, though by no means a strong one. In regard to
the quantum of growth likely to be made after the respective ages
of 2, 3, and 4, on the average, one inch appears by the table to
have been acquired after the second year, ^d of an inch after the
third year, and ^d after the fourth year.

I submit these computations with considerable diffidence, on
account of the limitedness of the records from which I have — in
the absence of more — been forced to take them. In its present
imperfect state the table may serve as some sort of guide for rough
calculations, and to direct us in future inquiries.

* I am about entering on some experimental observations, through which I
hope to throw some light on this interesting point.

THE SHOULDER.

57

A Table,

Shewing the relative Growths 155 Horses have made at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
and 7 Years of Age.

Number

2 Ye;irs
Old.

Incmise of
Grow tti.

I Number
(if 1 lorses
3 Years
Old.

Increase of

Growth.

Number

of Horses

4 Years

Old.

Increase of
Growth.

Number

of Horses

0 Years

Old.

Increase of
Growth.

INCHES.

INCHES.

INCHES.

INCHES.

1

Si

1

5\

2

3

2

2

1

5

2

H

1

2|

1

If

1

4 1

1

4

4

2i

1

H

3

3i

3

3|

3

2*

2

1

1

3

1

3£

2

2

3

i

1

2|

5

3

1

13

2

None.

2
3
2
3
6

2i

2

■14

1

4
5
3

7
8

c2%

■"4

2£
2*

2

If

5
3
8
3
13

1*

li
1

1

11

6i

Number of

Horses

6 Years Old.

Increase

of
Growth.

3

3
4

10

14

6

£

inches.

2

i
2

11

H

7

None.

1

n

4

1
4

27

1

—

—

3

1

2

None.

11

f

1

4

—

—

17
11
17

h

4

None.

2

4

7

4|

Number of

Horses
7 Years Old.

Increase

of
Growth.

1

INCH,
f

35

36|

144

40f

48

19£

We must not think of quitting this subject until we have pro-
fitted by the brilliant lights that have been incidentally cast upon
it by one of the greatest physiologists and discoverers of the age
in which we live, — the late Sir Charles Bell. Every one is ac-
quainted with those interesting and beautiful productions, " The
Bridgewater Treatises," among which, as one link in the series,
stands the work from Avhich we are about to make extracts that
will confer pre-eminent richness upon our present field of in-
vestigation.

After observing that, in the horse and other quadrupeds, with
few exceptions, the connexion between the extremity and the

I

58 FORM AND ACTION.

trunk is solely through muscles ; and that in the horse, as in most
quadrupeds, the speed results from the strength of the loins and
hinder extremities, Sir Charles continues, " Were the anterior ex-
tremities joined to the trunk firmly, and by bone, they could not
withstand the shock from the descent of the whole weight thrown
forwards; even though they were as powerful as the posterior ex-
tremities, they would suffer fracture or dislocation. We cannot
but admire, therefore, the provision in all quadrupeds whose speed
is great, and whose spring is extensive, that, from the relative po-
sition of their bones, they have an elastic resistance, by which the
shock of descending is diminished."

" If we observe the bones of the anterior extremities of the
horse, we shall see that the scapula is oblique to the chest; the
humerus oblique to the scapula; and the bones of the fore-arm,
(called by us the arm) at an angle with the humerus. Were these
bones connected together in a straight line, end to end, the shock
of alighting would be conveyed through a solid column, and the
bones of the foot or the joints would suffer from the concussion.
When the rider is thrown forwards on his hands, and more cer-
tainly when he is pitched on his shoulder, the collar-bone is broken,
because, in man, the bone forms a link of connexion between the
shoulder and the trunk, so as to receive the whole shock ; and the
same would happen in the horse, the stag, and all quadrupeds of
great strength and swiftness, were not the scapula sustained by
muscles, and not by bone, and did not the bones recoil and
fold up." — " Much of the strength, if not the freedom and rapidity
of motion, of a limb, will depend on the angle at which the bones
lie to each other ; for this mainly affects the insertion, and, con-
sequently, the power of the muscles. We know, and every
moment feel, that when the arm is extended we possess little
power in bending it ; but as we bend it the power is increased,
which is owing to the change in the direction of the force acting
upon the bone, or, in other words, because the tendon becomes
more perpendicular to the lever."

We have already shewn that the scapula possesses a rotatory
sort of motion upon the ribs, and that the sphere of its motion be-
comes increased by its degree of obliquity. Sir C. Bell has ex-
plained the cause of this — " the serratus muscle" — the fleshy at-

THE SHOULDER. 59

tachment of the scapula to the trunk, and the means through
which the latter is suspended — "when the scapula is oblique, has
more power in rolling it." Other muscular advantages likewise
accrue. " When the scapula lies at right angles with the humerus,
the muscles which are attached to the latter act with more effect.
And on the same principle, by the oblique position of the humerus,
and, consequently, its obliquity in reference to the radius and ulna,
the power of the muscle inserted into the olecranon is increased.
On the whole, both power and elasticity are gained by this posi-
tion of the superior bones of the fore leg. It gives to the animal
that springs a larger stretch in throwing himself forward, and se-
curity in a soft descent of its weight."

Sir Charles has admirably illustrated by sketches contrasting
the fore extremity of the skeleton of the elephant with that of the
camel, that the former is evidently constructed for strength, the
latter for spring and speed : pillars of bones, like stone columns,
standing in upright positions are evidently intended to support
weight, movement being a secondary consideration ; on the other
hand, bones arranged in regard to each other in zigzag or oblique
directions, are adapted for movement and spring, ability to carry
weight being the secondary consideration. This point has been
already illustrated by comparisons between the upright shoulders
of dray-horses, and the oblique ones of thorough-breds.

Let us now pass to

THE ARM.

Anatomists and horsemen will find themselves at variance con-
cerning the part to which this appellation is applied. The anato-
mist regards the humerus as the bone of the arm : the horseman
calls that part " the arm" which extends from the elbow to the
knee ; and incongruous and, to the anatomist, confusing as these
appellations, arm and knee, are, yet has custom so established
their use among horse people that we dare not refuse to adopt them.
The horseman's "arm", consequently, becomes the anatomist's
" fore-arm" ' : the humerus or proper arm being incorporated with
the shoulder, from the circumstance of the horse not being provided,
as a man, and a monkey, and some other beasts are, with those

60 FORM AND ACTION.

little bones whose use is to set the arms off from the shoulders —
the clavicles or collar-bones.

The arm of the horse, the same as our own fore-arm — to which,
I repeat, it corresponds — has in its composition two bones, the ra-
dius and the \ilna ; but with this difference, that in man and the
monkey, and also in some quadrupeds, the ulna is a separate bone
of equal length with the radius ; whereas in the horse it is nothing
more than an attachment to the radius, the medium of union be-
tween them being in the young animal, and indeed up to the adult
period, an elastic (cartilago-ligamentous) substance, which yields to
force, and thus in action serves the purpose of a spring, diminishing
concussion. Indeed, this appears to have been one reason why the
ulna was not extended to the knee-joint : had it been a separate
bone no such spring could have existed. At full growth, however,
or very soon after, the uniting elastic matter becomes converted into
bone, consolidating the ulna with the radius, and for ever destroying
the original spring.

At the superior part the ulna enters into the composition of the
elbow-joint, the same being the part which protuberates backward
and forms the elbow. Thus placed and fashioned, the ulna answers
two important uses : one is, extension of the surface of the joint
and limit to its motion backward, by serving as a stop to it; the
other is the leverage it offers for the insertion of muscles whose
office is to extend the fore-limb. The advantages derived from
long and prominent elbows are precisely such as are afforded by
length of lever in any situation out of the body : providing the
weight to be lifted and the lifting forces to remain the same, the
power of the latter will be increased in direct ratio with the length
of the lever — the elbow; and considering that the operation of
these muscles though immediately upon the arm, extends all the
way to the foot, a long lever may make a difference of some pounds
even in the capabilities of the fore-limb. So far as progression is
assisted by the fore extremities, it is by the action of the powerful
muscles inserted into the elbows : while the flexors of the arm
have only to lift the limb off the ground and advance it, the exten-
sor muscles — attached to the elbow — have, the moment the foot is
grounded, to aid in the grand operation of progression. We see, then,
the necessity for long and prominent elbows. Some horses appear

THE ARM. 61

as if they had no elbows : the protuberances are either so short or
stand so in or upright, that they are not perceptible to the eye, and
can hardly be felt ; which I look upon, myself, as a great deficiency,
though it is one that, even by "judges," is not at all times noticed.
People invariably pay great attention to hocks, but seem to over-
look elbows ; as I said before, however, for my own part, I do think
that length and form of elbow is a point of considerable importance,
and as such, I never lose sight of it.

At mature age, the arm of the horse is composed of a single
bone — the radius : the ulna being, in truth, but a process. And the
radius is a bone of superior strength, its great length, with the
weight and shocks, and muscular action it has to sustain, requiring
that it should be so. Two smaller bones of the same length would
have been too liable to fracture. Entering into the structure of the
fore limb are two long straight shafts of support : the radius consti-
tutes the uppermost of these, the cannon or leg bone the under-
most ; all the other supporters being angularly disposed.

The radius in itself, however, is not a mathematically straight
bone : between one extremity and the other it is slightly curved,
after the manner of a bow, the convexity of which is presented
forwards ; so that were it placed upon a table or any level surface,
with, its hinder part turned downward, it would form a very ex-
tended arc ; and this shape it is which renders it remarkable be-
yond any other bone in the horse. Thus fashioned, as a column of
support it is capable of sustaining greater weight, or at all events
greater shocks, from a property, which as a sort of bow it must
possess, of elasticity. What are called " calf-legs" do not arise
from any deficiency of this bow of the radius, but from peculiar
position of the knee-joints.

Superiorly, the radius is connected with the humerus, the nature
of the joint formed between them being such as admits of flexion
forwards and again of extension, but neither of flexion backwards
nor of any lateral motion. A horse has the power of advancing
his arm, and raising it rather beyond the line of right angle with
his body ; but he cannot bend it in a backward direction : the limb
is extended backward through the motion of the humerus on the
scapula. Had the elbow-joint moved backward as well as for-
ward, the animal must have been so insecure upon his legs, that

62 FORM AND ACTION.

constantly while in action, and even while standing still, he must
have been in danger of falling, from his legs " slipping under
him :" for the standing posture is only surely maintained by the
continued action of the muscles implanted into the elbow.

Having considered the arm in relation to the connexion sub-
sisting between the shoulder and it, to the leverage it offers by the
projection of the elbow, and to its form and substance, let us now
view it in reference to its length, and to the position it has in respect
to the body, and afterwards proceed to the examination of the knee
and leg.

A LONG ARM is held to be a point of excellence : it is one of
the characteristics of speed ; the deer, the greyhound, the fox, the
rabbit and hare, have all of them long arms. It also denotes strength.
A long arm includes the supposition of a short leg or cannon ; and
shortness in a bone which simply acts as a prop of support, is a sign
of strength ; hence the lower we descend in the limb, the shorter
we find the bones : thus, the cannon is shorter than the arm ; the
pastern than the cannon ; the coronet than the pastern; the objects
being strength, and, as much as possible, the mitigation of con-
cussion. The arm, it is true, likewise constitutes a shaft of sup-
port ; but, then, it is on every side surrounded by muscle, from
which it must receive considerable sustainment: whereas, the
bones below the knee are without any active or vital embrace ;
are, in fact, left without any support and protection, save what little
they derive from tendon and ligament. Again, the arm being the
moving power, the leg, the part to be moved, length and substance
in the former contrast advantageously with shortness and compact-
ness in the latter : every inch added to the leg increases the weight
of the shaft to be raised and projected, and calls for additional power
in the propelling agent. And again, length of arm will give the
horse advantage in action : every step he takes in a walk or trot,
will, from the greater reach of the arm forwards, prove so much
gained to him ; and these gains, though insignificant of themselves,
may in the course of a mile turn out something considerable. .

Should the arm be short, though it be muscular and strong, yet
will its power tell to comparatively less effect when the cannons
are long, and from that circumstance alone proportionally weak :
horses so made are absolutely weaker — less stable — upon their fore

THE ARM. 63

legs than others : they do not possess the same power of recovering
a false step, and are consequently more likely to fall and break their
knees; neither do such legs " wear" well, but by hard work soon
evince instability and tremor at the knee-joints, with knuckling-
over of the fetlocks. On all accounts, therefore, a long arm with
a short cannon is to be preferred.

The position of the fore limbs, in respect to the trunk, in
which I include their line of descent from the body to the ground,
will mainly depend upon the length of the humerus, and the direc-
tion given to the radius by its articulation with it. In animals in
which the humerus, forming part of the shoulder, is placed in an
oblique position, it is, as is observed by Sir Chas. Bell, " neces-
sarily short ; otherwise it would throw the leg too far back, and
make the head and neck project." " It is," continues Sir Charles,
" one of the ' points' of a horse to have the humerus short. And
not only have all animals of speed this character, but birds of long
flight, as the swallow, have short humeri." In horses in whom the
points of the shoulder appear to project inordinately forward, the
fore limbs will be found to be placed farther backward than usual,
owing to the too great length or obliquity of the humerus ; and
should the limbs at the same time, from the nature of their con-
nexion with the humerus, have an inclination in their line of de-
scent backward, such a horse, from his liability to fall and the
little chance he has of recovering any stumble or mis-step, is to be
regarded as dangerous in the extreme : in fact, he is fit but for
harness, and never ought to carry a saddle. The centre of gravity
being thrown so much more forward than it ought to be, with the
undue preponderance given to the head and neck, will cause the
weight of his body to be thrown, by the impetus of action, almost
all into his harness-collar, and thus prove of material assistance to
him in his draught. In a horse with well-formed and straight fore
limbs, a plumb-line let fall from the point of the shoulder will drop
touching the point of the toe ; but in a horse formed after the man-
ner described above, the line will fall in front of the toe of the
hoof.

64 form and action.

The Knee.

The knee of the quadruped is the part which corresponds, anato-
mically regarded, with the carpus or wrist of man : differently cir-
cumstanced, and differently used as the two parts are, yet is there
considerable analogy between them in structure. Each of them
is composed of eight bones, though in the knee only six out of
the number are placed so as to sustain pressure ; the remaining
two being situated behind the others, out of the line of the superin-
cumbent weight. One of these supplementary bones — called, from
its shape, trapezium — is affixed edgeways to the outer part of the
back of the knee-joint, and there answers the most important pur-
pose of furnishing a lever for those muscles whose office it is to flex
the leg : both celerity and force were required in this flexion or
catching-up of the leg off the ground in action ; and these are at-
tained through the advantages the muscles derive in their action
from the projection of the trapezium. When we see, therefore,
great breadth of the outer side of the knee, and that its hinder part
is very prominent, throwing the muscles attached to the point back
and so increasing the breadth of the arm, we may pronounce such a
horse to possess great power in flexing his legs, and commensurate
strength and quickness in action.

There are six small bones, then, sorts of irregular or mis-shapen
cubes, placed between the two main straight shafts of support of the
fore limb, viz. the radius above, the cannon-bone below. Upon the
summit of the latter the three lowe'r of these bones, ranged in one
row; rest ; while upon the three constituting the upper row presses
the lower end of the radius. Why was the knee-joint constituted
in this manner 1 Why were these bones interposed ? Why was
not the end of the radius connected by joint at once with the end
of the cannon-bone 1 Because Nature had more objects to fulfil
than could have been accomplished by any simple or single form-
ation of joint. By a joint between the radius and cannon-bone
the weight would have been quite as well sustained as it is at
present ; but the concussion must have been greater : nay, the
motion might have been as great even as it is now between these
two bones ; but then, at the time that the leg was flexed on the
arm to the utmost, how would the knee-joint in front have become

THE KNEE. 65

exposed, and what must have been the consequences of a broken
knee 1 or how could the animal with impunity have gone down
upon his knees, in the act of lying down or kneeling, as he can at
present 1 Suppose a sort of patella or knee-pan had been placed
and attached in front of the knee, would that have answered the
purpose 1 Perhaps, as far as standing and motion are concerned,
it would ; and, perhaps, some such contrivances as exist in the
knee-joint of a man — the semilunar cartilages — might have been
successfully introduced for warding off concussion : still, the chances
both of fracture and dislocation must have been great, whereas
now, such accidents never happen*; and besides, the knees so
formed never could have undergone " the wear and tear" with the
impunity they are, such as they are, enabled to do.

Nothing can exceed the complete aptitude of the joint of the
knee for every purpose named and required of it. Though there
are six bones actually entering into its composition, yet so braced
and bound together are they, by ligaments, in their relative situa-
tions, that, while they admit of every requisite motion in the joint,
they support the superincumbent weight with all the stability of a
solid structure, and are secured both against fracture and dislocation
under any use or abuse to which the knee may be subjected.
Moreover, the joint receives protection both in front and back by
the tendons which pass across it, and has, in addition, a general
enclosure of capsular ligament.

Large knees constitute a good point in a horse ; they denote
strength and stability ; in action, safety and endurance ; and, as I
observed before, it is a great point to have a boldly projecting tra-
pezium. The motion of the knee-joint consists in flexion backwards
— none whatever in the forward direction ; and this flexion back-
wards is capable of being carried to the utmost extent — so far as
to bring the back of the leg in contact with the back of the arm.
Nothing illustrates this better than the strapping of the leg and
arm together ; an expedient not infrequently had recourse to when

* Many years ago, when I was quartered at Chatham, and in the habit of
hunting with the Wouldham harriers, a person assured me he " put out his
horse's knee-joint" in galloping hard down the declivity of Wouldham hill.

K

66 FORM AND ACTION.

no assistant is at hand to take up the fore-leg, to make the horse
stand firmly and itnmoveably upon the opposite one.

While in a state of flexion, some degree of lateral motion is pos-
sessed by the cannon ; though the same no longer exists when the
leg is extended. Lateral motion, in the extended position of the
limb, could only have tended to diminish the stability and firmness
of the standing posture, without possessing any countervailing advan-
tage; but some degree of lateral mobility in the knee, in the flexed po-
sition of the limb — while the leg is in the air — enables the animal to
round and collect his action, and direct his foot while off the ground
and place it upon the ground, according as circumstances shall re-
quire of him. Some horses, we know, throw their feet outwards in
going ; some, inwards : foreign horses, especially, have the former
kind of action ; a good deal of which peculiarity in the flexion of
the leg is effected through the lateral motion possessed by the
knee-joint.

LECTURE VI.

THE FORE LEG OR CANNON.

As the knee of the horse is the part which anatomically corre-
sponds to the wrist of man, so the fore leg, by the anatomist, is
compared with that part of the human hand which extends from
the wrist to the roots of the fingers ; the metacarpus, as it is tech-
nically called. Hence the three bones composing the fore-leg in
the horse are named, in accordance with the human metacarpus,
the metacarpal bones. Carrying comparisons and names so far
as this, however, appears, as Sir Charles Bell has aptly remarked,
" losing the sense in the love of system." " There is no regular
gradation," adds Sir Charles, in allusion to the many kinds of
formation discoverable in the limbs, and other parts of animals,
" but a variety most curiously adapting the same system of parts
to every necessary purpose."

The metacarpal bones, those that compose the leg, are three
in number, viz. one large and two small. The large bone, one of
the cylindrical class, and one that is particularly straight and round
and smooth in its form, commonly goes by the name of the cannon

THE FORE LEG Oil CANNON. 67

bone : an appellation given to it, I imagine, from some sort of re-
semblance it bears, it being perforated, to the barrel of a cannon,
or else to a tube or pipe, which in Latin is canna, and from
which our words cannon and canon are said to have been derived.
The two small bones are very commonly called the splent or splint
bones ; either because they are the seats of splents or splints, or
from their own resemblance to splenters or splinters of wood, or of
other hard splitting substance. The cannon bone constitutes the
shaft of support of the leg : above it and upon it, with the inter-
position of the knee, stands the arm ; while its lower end rests
upon the pastern bone. The splint bones, pyramidal in shape, and
adherent to the sides of the cannon, taper downward into points,
or rather terminate in small tubercular knobs, which have no
resting-places — no articulation with any bone beneath them ; the
consequence of which is, that the whole of the weight they receive
in the support they give the body must have been directly trans-
mitted to the cannon bone, had they not been cemented to its
sides by a soft elastic substance, something of an intervening
nature between cartilage and ligament, which admits of their yield-
ing downward ; — " descending," as Professor Coleman's expression
used to be — every time pressure from above is imposed upon
them. And as the superincumbent weight, in accordance with
the laws of the centre of gravity, bears more upon the inner than
upon the outer sides of the limbs, so the inner splint bone is fur-
nished at the knee with an independent joint, i. e. one of the bones
of the knee-joint rests exclusively upon the head of the inner
bone ; which is not the case with the bone on the outer side, that
receiving but a part of the articulation of the bone of the knee
above it#.

This yielding downward or descent of the splint bones on the
imposition of weight, and of the inner more than of the outer bone,
and the instantaneous recoil of them, or ascent, the moment the
active pressure has ceased, has long, by veterinarians, been re-
garded as one of many contrivances, operating, after the manner of
a spring in the limb, to save the animal machine from receiving

* A reference to these parts in the skeleton will demonstrate what I have
said.

68 FORM AND ACTION.

that concussion which otherwise must necessarily result from its
great action and speed : some of the weight or pressure which,
otherwise, must all have been received in a direct line by the
cannon bone, and from it have descended to the pastern, is now
diverted for the purpose of setting these springs in operation, and
thereby conferring elasticity and ease on the animal's move-
ments.

Such has been the use ascribed by veterinary physiologists to
these bones, and no question that I know of has been raised about
its propriety, before Sir Charles Bell took it into consideration, and
expressed his dissent from it. " I have some hesitation," says
Sir Charles, in his Treatise on ' The Hand,' " in admitting the
correctness of the opinion of veterinary surgeons on this curious
piece of mechanism. They imagine that these moveable splint
bones, by plajdng up and down, as the foot is alternately raised
and pressed to the ground, bestow elasticity, and prevent concus-
sion. The fact certainly is, that by over-action this part becomes
inflamed, and the extremities preternaturally joined by bone to the
greater metacarpal or cannon bone ; and that this, which is called
a splint, is a cause of lameness."

" I suspect, rather," continues Sir Charles, " that, in a perfect
state of the joint, these lesser metacarpal bones act as a spring to
throw out the foot when it is raised, and the knee bent. If we
admit that it is the quickness in the extension' of this joint on
which the rate of motion must principally depend, it will not escape
observation, that, in the bent position of the knee, the extensor
tendons have very little power, from their running so near to the
centre of motion of the joint ; and that, in fact, they require some
additional means to aid the extension of the leg."

" Supposing that the head of the lesser metacarpal bone," says
Sir Charles, in explanation of the above, " enters into the compo-
sition of the joint, it does not appear that, by its yielding when the
foot is upon the ground, the bones of the carpus can descend, as
long as they are sustained by the greater metacarpal or cannon
bone ; I do not, therefore, conceive that this bone can add to the
elasticity of the foot. But when we perceive that the head of the
splint bone is behind the centre of motion in the joint, it is obvious
that it must be more pressed upon in the bent position of the joint

THE FORE LEG OR CANNON. 69

when the foot is elevated, and that then the bone must descend.
If the splint bone be depressed when the limb is raised and bent,
and have a power of recoiling (which it certainly has), it must
aid in throwing the leg into the straight position, and assist the
extensor muscles of the knee. Further, we can readily believe
that, when the elasticity of these splint bones is lost, by ossification
uniting them firmly to the cannon bone, the want of such a piece
of mechanism essential to the quick extension of the foot will
make the horse apt to come down."

Supposing the horse's foot to be placed upon a perfectly level
unyielding surface, and the weight from above to be thrown upon
the limb in a direct line with the centre of motion, " it does not
appear," as Sir Charles has observed, " the bones of the carpus can
descend." But, supposing the animal's foot to be placed upon an
uneven surface, or upon one that becomes so by yielding, may there
not be such tilting of the carpal bones from the one-sided dispo-
sition of the weight expected to take place as will press downward
the splint bone of one side, and so bring both bones into operation
alternately or incidentally, as the case may be, depending upon the
side to which the weight is inclined, which, commonly, is the inner
one 1 According to this view, their operation is, of course, single,
and independent of each other : according to former accounts, it
was combined and simultaneous.

It is more than we dare assert, that the splint bone, from any
pressure it receives in the bent condition of the joint, does not yield
even to the extent of its elasticity, or to use the common phrase,
though, as we think, an over-doing one, "descend;" but we cer-
tainly must pause ere we can believe such a trifling movement as
this so-called descent, after all, can amount to, can have any effect
in aiding " in throwing out the leg into the straight position, and
assisting the extensor muscles of the knee :" too insignificant a
cause, we conceive, to produce an effect so perceptible and so pow-
erful.

Be the operation and use of these elastic powers what it may,
few horses retain them after the adult period: the ligamentous
elastic material becomes converted into osseous inelastic substance,
and thus the three bones, in point of fact, consolidated into one.
Do we discover anv difference or alteration in horses' action on

70 FORM AND ACTION.

this account 1 Is there any person can say, after he has mounted
and ridden a horse, whether that horse have ossified splint bones
or elastic ones 1 I have ridden numbers of horses in my time ;
and, as a general rule, certainly find that young horses possess
more elasticity in their movements than old horses ; and this is
readily enough accounted for when we come to consider the number
of animal springs there are in the body, all or most of which
become impaired, and some altogether lost, in the course of age
and work : among them, however, I should say those of the splint
bones were probably the smallest in importance, and therefore
would be the least of all missed.

In every horse that has splints this conversion of elastic into
osseous union has necessarily taken place ; and, as I said before,
this is also found to be the case in every horse of a certain age,
whether he shew splints or not : for the appearance of the splints
is simply owing to increased or supplementary deposit of osseous
matter, and is not the effect of mere ossification of the elastic
substance. And this shews, when lameness arises from splint —
which it occasionally, by no means always, does — that it is not at-
tributable to the mere circumstance of the conversion of the uniting
substance of the metacarpal bones from elastic into osseous matter,
but is ascribable to the tumour, and we believe is caused by the
straining or overstretching of the periosteum, the membrane which
covers the bone. Were horses who had lost these springs to go
lame, or even perceptibly roughly or jarringly, the preservation of
them, and the ascertainment whether horses really possessed them
or not, would become considerations of importance to us: since,
however, we are, in truth, unable to say, from a horse's action,
either on or off his back, whether these springs be in existence
or not, we give ourselves, in practice, no concern whatever about
them.

Short straight cannons are most desirable : as I have said in
another place, length of arm and shortness of leg are good points —
are signs of strength and action and endurance. While the dis-
tance from the elbow to the knee can hardly be too lengthy, that
from the knee to the fetlock can hardly be too short : and the
cannon bone should be straight in its position ; neither inclining
forwards, as in the calf-leg ; nor directed backwards, as when the

THE FETLOCK. 71

fore limb, either from the length or position of the humerus, is
running backward in that manner which gives the effect of what
is called " standing over." The leg in form in the living horse
should be flat and broad, not what is called " round :" the sinew
should stand out far behind the bone, and feel tense, and distinct,
and hard ; and the interspace between the sinew and bone should
give to the fingers the sensation of a hollow, a totally unoccupied
interval, and not one filled up with soft substance, called, in horse-
man's phraseology, "gum." The cannon bone itself cannot be too
large, providing there be breeding in the horse; and the only way
to "judge of legs" is to feel them : by grasping them we ascertain
their size ; and by feeling them with our fingers we discover most
surely what the proportion of sinew and bone is, compared with the
weight to be carried. It is a frequent complaint, that horses are
" small below the knee," meaning thereby that they are deficient in
bone. In making this assertion, however, we should be careful
not to be deceived by appearances ; for the fore limbs will, now and
then, have the appearance of wanting bone and sinew, when such
is really not the case : in fine, the sole sure mode of "judging of
legs" is to feel them — "run the hand down them," and span them;
by which test one man can estimate a leg better in the dark than
another, by simply looking at it, can in the light. It is very
common to hear a gentleman say, "that horse is light below the
knee ;" to which the dealer, who knows his legs to be good,
naively replies, " 1 think, sir, if you will feel them, you will not
find any deficiency there!"

THE FETLOCK.

From the cannon we descend to the pastern, the two parts
being connected by the joint known by the name of the fetlock or
feetlock ; so called from the lock or tuft of hair which grows
from it.

The cannon, pastern, and coffin bones of the solidungulous ani-
mal bear evidence, in their formation, of that incorporation or con-
solidation of parts which we observe to take place in the scale of
analogous structures, at the top of which stands the most perfect
of digital formations, the human hand, at the bottom, immediately

72 FORM AND ACTION.

below the cloven foot, the solipede or solid hoof; each losing some-
thing which renders it less useful as a hand, but gaining something
which better adapts it for a foot, until all regard to the former is
lost, and the latter remains paramount and exclusive. The cloven
foot of the ruminant still maintains some clutch or hold upon the
ground, but the undivided hoof of the horse is deprived of all this :
that, in its shod condition, cannot be said to take any further hold
upon the earth than what is mechanically derived from the pres-
sure caused by the superincumbent force or weight, from the un-
evenness of the surface of the foot, from impress of it upon yield-
ing ground. In the same manner that the cannon bone of the
horse can be demonstrated to consist of an union of two metacarpal
bones, so the pastern bones may be said, each of them, to be con-
stituted of two united phalanges, and the coffin of a junction of the
two separate or semi-coffin bones of the cloven foot.

The lower end of the cannon-bone has two roller-like, smooth,
and polished surfaces, which play within correspondent concavities
upon the summit of the pastern bone : the position of the latter,
however, being obliquely forward, while the former stands in a
perpendicular line, a large vacuity would necessarily be left be-
hind, were not the sesamoid bones placed there for the purpose of
completing the joint. These two little supplementary bones are
kept in their places by ligaments, two running crosswise, attaching
them to the pastern bone ; but their mainstay, that which princi-
pally upholds them, and admits of the play or motion of them dur-
ing the action of the fetlock joint, is the suspensory ligament. The
sesamoid bones are so bound to the supero -posterior part of the
pastern, that the three together form a cylindroid dish-like hollow,
into which is received the lower end of the cannon-bone ; and the
weight from the latter preponderates upon one or other of the for-
mer, depending upon the obliquity or line of direction the pastern
takes on leaving the cannon in its course to the foot. When the
pastern deviates but little from the perpendicular of the limb, it is said
to be " straight," and is almost always made " short ;" so that short
and straight pasterns are consentaneous formations : the reverse,
short and slanting pasterns, being incompatibles, or at least such a
combination as is rarely seen, and is attended with disadvantages
both of strength and action. When, on the other hand, the pas-

THE FETLOCK. 73

tern forms, in leaving the cannon, a considerable angle, it is said
to be " oblique," and is almost always extended in length, so as to
assume the denomination of " long" or "lengthy :" this is a dispo-
sition of parts which also has its peculiar advantages, and one
that would have its objects defeated or much abridged by anv dis-
proportionate shortening with the obliquity.

In proportion as the pastern is upright in position, less weight is
imposed upon the sesamoid bones, more upon the pastern bone,
and vice versa. What pressure or weight the pastern-bone re-
ceives descends to the coronet, and thence to the coffin-bone. But
what becomes of the weight imposed upon the sesamoids, they
having no bones below to transmit it to 1 They are in a somewhat
similar situation to the splint-bones; they call upon their attaching
bands — 'their ligaments — to support them under the load ; and
their ligaments do so by yielding — they being elastic — so long as
force is operating ; and the instant it is not, they, through elasticity,
again recover their short lengths, and so raise the sesamoid bones
into their places. This descent and ascent of the sesamoids is not
to be compared with that imperceptible and disputed motion of the
splint-bones ; on the contrary, it is a demonstrable and beautiful
descending and ascending operation — a playing down and up, after
the manner of a spring of most elastic and exquisite workmanship ;
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 irom the
surface. Nothing can evince more beautifully and plainly than
this the movements of the fetlock-joints.

The elastic 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, in
real truth, " broke down ;" the feet slip forward, and the toes turn

L

74 FOltM AND ACTION.

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 necessitating 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 shivered to pieces under the force and shocks
they have to sustain at every bound and leap the animal makes,
insures himself and his rider ease and safety to their 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 ? Was not elasticity and defence
against concussion required in the cart-horse ] 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 and 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
receive so much of the weight as to put the ligaments violently on
the stretch, and occasion lameness. This effect also may ensue in
consequence of the heels of the hoof being improperly cut down, or
the toe allowed to grow too long, or the heels being first raised by a
high-heeled shoe, and that suddenly changed for a shoe with thin
heels. All these causes, however, whether separate or combined,
do not operate with so much violence in the hind as in the fore legs.

THE FETLOCK. 75

The additional weight of the head and neck to be sustained bv the
fore legs, renders all their springs more liable to injury and decay
than the corresponding parts behind."

Although the fore limbs actually support more weight than the
hind, and receive shocks of concussion unknown to the latter, and
on these accounts become the ordinary seats of lameness, and are
often seen worn out while the hind legs continue serviceable, yet,
we must not pass by unnoticed that which, in this instance, would
seem to have escaped the observation of the Professor, viz. the
great deal the hind legs have to do as the agents of progression,
and the consequent frequency of failure in the hind fetlock-joints.
We know that many of our first hunters and racers become inca-
pacitated from what is called " breaking down behind ;" and we
have no reason to feel surprise at this, when we consider the work
these joints have to perform in progression : next to the hock, in-
deed, there is no part of the hind limb so forced and strained as the
fetlock. One of the best race-horses this country ever produced —
the Colonel — failed from this cause ; and no effort on the part of
Mr. Goodwin could set him up again upon the turf. Harness
horses, employed in laborious draught, are very apt to fail in their
hind fetlocks, these being the joints upon which so much stress is
made in strenuous efforts in drawing up hill or along heavy roads.
The greater the exertion the fetlock-joint is put to, the greater the
flexion of it, and consequent stress or strain upon the sesamoids
and their tendinous and ligamentary supports, producing either
overstretch of them, or laceration of some of their component fibres
at the moment, and thus occasioning immediate lameness; or else,
by a repetition of effort, in time impairing or destroying their elas-
tic properties, and thus inducing that relaxation and puffiness of
the joint which we constantly observe in horses who have been, in
the manner described, for years subjected to hard work.

Two circumstances, then, influence the quantum of stress or
weight imposed upon the sesamoids, — the degree of flexion of the
fetlock-joint, and the position, straight or oblique, of the pastern;
and both these circumstances are, in a measure, under our control.
We cannot, it is true, lengthen or shorten the pastern ; but it is in
our power, by means of shoeing, to alter the position of it : " The
heels of the hoof being improperly cut down, or the toe allowed to

76 FORM AND ACTION.

grow too long, or the heels being first raised by a high-heeled shoe,
and that suddenly changed for a shoe with thin heels," are all
causes which, says Professor Coleman, put the sesamoids on the
stretch, and, on occasions, do so, no doubt, to the injury of their
ligamentary connexions. There is not, however, so much harm
done in this way as people in general imagine. Certainly, art
cannot more insult nature than by suddenly and unpreparedly
altering the habitual condition of any part of the body ; and were a
person to set about to produce lameness, perhaps he could hardly
resort to a more effectual expedient than that of momentarily chang-
ing the relative position of the parts composing the fetlock and pas-
tern joints, either from an upright to an oblique, or from an oblique
to a straight position ; indeed, were the surface upon which the
horse treads like that of the table upon which we are writing, level
and unyielding, injury might be certain to result. But, as matters
stand, in the first place, there is almost always more or less yielding
of the ground under the horse's feet to counteract the effects of this
unnatural bearing of parts, and, in the second, there is inherent in
the parts themselves a power of adjustment, sufficient, we believe,
on all ordinary occasions, to ward off injury to them until such
time as they shall be able to accommodate themselves to their new
situations, or even, for a time, while the horse is going upon what
may be compared to the table, viz. wood-pavement. We do not deny
the mischief that may accrue from injudicious heightening or low-
ering of the heels of the foot by shoeing ; we only have less appre-
hension of the consequences, on account of the yielding nature of
the ground and the adjusting power of the parts themselves, than
appear to be entertained by horse people in general.

77
LECTURE VII.

THE HIND LEGS.

" — Whereas, the narrow pin buttock, the hog rump, and the falling
buttock, are all natural deformities, and in general render the creatures to
which they belong unfit for either pad or pillion." — Farrier s Dictionary.

The three bones below the pastern, properly speaking, belong
to the foot ; a part I shall defer the consideration of until we have
completed the present series of lectures " on Form and Action :"
in accordance with this plan I now proceed to the hind ex-
tremities.

In my description of the fore limbs, I observed that they dif-
fered materially from the hind ones in their superstructural divi-
sions, notwithstanding that below the knees and hocks there
existed, both in the living and dissected subjects, every identity
between their structures : the osseous fabric of the fore limb
exhibits, as a whole, a tolerably fair representation of the limb of
the living animal; but than the haunches of the living horse and
the parts representative thereof in the skeleton nothing can be
more unlike. The framework of bones composing the hind quar-
ters* exhibits a bold, rugged, zigzag structure, remarkable only
for its irregularities, having here a huge projection, there a large
void, with such a disposition of the component pieces as to offer
every advantage, consistent with the general conformation, to the
muscles that once filled the vacuities, and had their attachments
to projections so strangely, yet wisely, shapen and disposed. The
hind limbs are the agents of progression : though the fore contri-
bute to the operation, they are no more than auxiliary forces, not
absolutely requisite, and only on occasions called into action. This
accounts for the especial development of the hind quarters in
quadrupeds of speed, or such as are gifted with extraordinary
powers of saltation, such as kangaroos. In surveying the points
of a race-horse, the practical man on the turf sets great value on

* " Hind quarters," and " quarters" are expressions used here and in other
places in the sense of buttocks.

78 FORM AND ACTION.

one that is big-haunched ; knowing well, that, cceteris paribus, a
horse so made cannot be far behind his competitors in the race.

The pelvis is the name given to that irregular quadrangle of
bone which, completing the skeleton posteriorly, constitutes the
framework or basis of the rump and hips*. It is formed by the
counter-position and part union of the two hip or haunch bones,
and by the sacrum or rump-bone, which is let in between them,
and makes a sort of roofing to the cavity of the pelvis. In an
anatomical point of view, the pelvis is a part of considerable im-
portance, from the circumstance of its lodging within its cavity the
urinary bladder, and the organs of generation in the female : to us,
on the present occasion, it is of importance chiefly on account of
its position in regard to obliquity, its shape, and its magnitude,
and the consequent facility it affords the femoral bones in their
motions, and the leverage it offers to the muscles attached to it.
A small or narrow pelvis cramps the viscera within it, leaves insuf-
ficient space for the foetus in utero, and produces, exteriorly, what
is called " falling-off in the hind quarters" — small rump, and flat
and lank haunches.

A large or wide pelvis throws the hips further apart, making the
animal " broad-hipped," or, as he is denominated when the hips
are unusually prominent, " ragged-hipped ;" there being, as would
appear in the latter case, some deficiency of muscle. Within
limits, breadth across the hips is desirable. Cart-horses can hardly
be too broad and big about their hind quarters : not so, however,
with horses intended for speed. For it must be remembered, that
by the increase of the distance across from one hip to the other,
the hip-joints, in which the femoral bones perform their motions,
are also removed farther apart, wider from the centre of gravity;
the consequences of which are, inability on their part to balance the
machine and move it, in progression, with the same effect as when
they are nearer together. The broad-hipped horse will " stand over
more ground," crosswise, than the narrow-hipped one, and will, on
that account, maintain a surer standing ; but should he attempt in
action to place his feet underneath his body at all centrically, he
will only be able to take short steps in advance, and should he not

1 See the skeleton at page 7.

THK HIND LEGS. 79

attempt this, his wide gait must make his burthen the greater.
Broad-hipped horses, in their gallop, cannot throw their hind feet
centrically forward in progression in the way racers are required
to do. They will possess stability and strength in action, but their
freedom or extent of action will be diminished ; neither will they
possess the same facility in turning sharp or quick as horses of a
different make. One of the broadest-hipped horses I ever knew
belonged to an officer of the Guards, and of him great complaints
were made about his " rolling and awkward gait behind," and his
inability to "turn about and wheel round" with the required
promptitude ; the consequence was, that he lost his place as a
charger, and was sold as a harness-horse. In a general way,
horses measure about twenty inches across from hip-bone to hip-
bone ; though some will run as much in their measure as twenty-
two, while others will not exceed nineteen inches. I do not find,
as in human beings, any notable difference between the width of
the pelvis in the male and female horse.

Although the race-horse may prove disadvantageously broad
across his hips, I believe he will never be found either too lengthy
or too straight in his quarters ; by which I mean, the length and
elevation of an imaginary line carried from either hip to the point
of his quarter, or of another carried from the summit of his rump
to the root of his dock. Such straight formation of quarter implies
small degree of declination in the position of the pelvis, the effect
of which is extension of the angles between the pelvis and the
femoral bones, and correspondent increase of the distances be-
tween the pelvis and the stifles in front, and between the pelvis
and hocks behind ; thereby augmenting the dimensions of the
muscles running between these salient points, and at the same
time furnishing them with, under the circumstances, the greatest
advantages in their action. Length and straightness in the
quarters must, therefore, be regarded as characteristic attributes
of the race-horse.

Genuine hackneys, and many good hunters too, possess quar-
ters the reverse of this in form ; more, in fact, like that of cart-
horses ; and, when it is considered that the former are desired for
their walking and trotting paces, and the latter in their gallop to
carry great weight, we need feel no surprise at this : blood quar-

80 FORM AND ACTION.

ters would have given them increased gallopping speed, but they
could, with the augmented stride, neither have carried the required
weight nor maintained the stability and firmness of step requisite
for heavy draught, and, therefore, they would not have proved so
valuable either upon the road or in the field. On this account the
short -quartered horse is often to be preferred to the lengthy one,
even for the purposes of hunting ; though, of course, should there
be found — as nowadays there often is, from our extensive increase
of blood — lengthy quarters possessing the requisite strength, they
will in the field surpass all the cocktails*. Still, do the latter
retain one advantage over the blood-horse : with their short and
strengthy quarters, they commonly inherit powers of leaping, and
cleverness in getting over awkward places, for which the long
greyhound-like quarter of the racer seems ill adapted. The same
remark may likewise be made in respect to the manege : horses
with racing-like quarters never perform so cleverly with their
haunches as others ; they have difficulty in getting their haunches
under them, and from extreme elasticity, manifest " weakness" in
them, on which account thorough-breds rarely turn out accom-
plished military chargers. We know that Irish hunters are pro-
verbially good leapers ; and they are remarkable for their short,
high-rumped, any thing but handsome, quarters : withal, however,
they perform wonders in jumping, particularly in the hunting field,
and this they are enabled to do from great breadth and shortness,
combined with uncommon muscularity of the hind quarters.

The cart or dray-horse, the cob, the hackney to carry weight,
are all valued the more for their large, rotund, plump quarters.
Lank or lengthy quarters, such as would be admired in a racer,
are, in these horses, detractive from their worth and beauty ; as
much, in fact, out of character, as round and full quarters would be
upon a race-horse. This shews how necessary it is, before we pro-
nounce on the aptitude or inaptitude of these parts, to first deter-
mine the breed of the animal, or for what purpose he is intended.
The quarters may be " good" of the kind, and yet of a character
unsuitable to the breed or make of the horse, or they may be of a
description in keeping with the breed and conformation of the

* Half-bred horses, with short round quarters, from their tails being car-
ried erect, are commonly so called.

THE HIND LEGS. SI

individual, and }ret " bad" of their kind. The quarters of the
thorough-bred may possess the due length and straightness, but
may be wanting in defined boldness of project ure, and be deficient,
in muscularity, thereby flat and lank and powerless.

Again,- the quarters of the cart-horse may be characteristically
short in their various dimensions, but may prove defective in bulk
and plumpness. The length of the loins must a good deal influence
the make of the hind quarters : shortness and compactness in the
one would ill consort, both in appearance and action, with lengthi-
ness and elasticity in the other; and it is not often that we observe
any disagreement in this respect.

We meet, every now and then, with horses whom we admire in
every respect save that they " fall off" or are " plain" in their
quarters. The rump is small and altogether out of proportion to
other parts, or it is one of a " drooping" character ; or else, from
disproportionate breadth and squareness, and great prominence of
the hips, the quarters assume an ugly " ragged" appearance. These
broad and ragged quarters, providing the thighs and hocks are of
strong make, in general possess great efficiency in action. Many
of our best trotters, such as are known to be capable in this line of
feats both of strength and action, will be found to have quarters of
this description with extraordinary development of power in their
thighs and hocks. A horse can hardly be made worse in these
parts than to possess an extended narrow loin, rising in a line,
rather concave than otherwise, from a dip in the back to the sum-
mit of the rump, with buttocks drooping from this elevation, having
flat or hollow surfaces, and yet being lengthy in their dimensions,
with a tail set on as low down as it is possible for it to be. Such
a horse will be light-carcassed, tucked up in the flanks after work,
and, from want of power in his propelling agents, prove incapable
of " carrying weight" or " getting through dirt," or of dragging
any thing in the shape of a load.

The hind quarters being the agents of propulsion of the machine
in action, durst we attempt to consider them apart from the fore
limbs, or to institute any comparison between the two, we should
certainly rank them in the highest place in our estimation ; i. e., for
all purposes of work, a horse with " good" hind quarters and " bad"
fore quarters ought, undoubtedly, to be preferred to one with the

M

82 FORM AND ACTION,

reverse qualifications : he would carry greater Aveight, draw a
heavier load, and probably not so soon tire. But, perhaps, as was
observed on a former occasion, the hind limbs would do too much
for the fore in action, and the consequence would be — from the
fore legs not being able to act in consort with them and to " get
out of their way"— falling down, forwards. Another evil might
be, a most unpleasant jarring, stilty, falling-down sensation to the
rider, amounting, perhaps, to a total unfitness for the saddle, and
even incapacitating the horse for any thing but slow work in har-
ness. After all, therefore, however efficient his " good" hind quar-
ters may render him, want of any thing like commensurate " good-
ness" in his fore ones would render his admirable qualities behind
of little avail. In fine, we may and do, for certain purposes, such
as light pleasure riding and driving, &c, make good fore-quartered
horses very useful, although their hind parts are any thing but what
we would desire them to be ; but, for the reasons stated, the re-
verse conformation proves now and then such as to render the ani-
mal totally worthless, unless it be, as I said before, to go a foot's
pace in a higgler's or market-gardener's cart.

THE HAUNCH AND THIGH.

The divisions of the hind extremity are, the quarter, buttock
or haunch, the thigh, the cannon or leg, the pastern, the coronet,
and the foot : the joints connecting these parts to each other being,
the hip joint or round-bone joint, the stifle joint, the hock joint, the
fetlock joint, the pastern joint, the navicular joint, and the coffin
joint.

When we come to examine the skeleton and consider the bones
of the hind extremity in reference to the parts denominated " thigh"
and " leg" in the living animal, we find the same discrepancy pre-
vailing as was noticed on a former occasion in regard to the fore
extremity. The os femoris, so named by anatomists because it
corresponds to what in the human skeleton is the true thigh-bone
— in the quadruped becomes an os ischii or haunch bone ; while
the tibia and fibula — the bones of our leg — appear in the horse
as ossa femoris or thigh bones. Pursuing this analogical investiga-
tion, we discover the heel of man to be converted into the hock of

THE HAUNCH AND THIGH. 83

the horse ; and the bones of the hands andjingers, by union, con-
solidation, and great additional length and development, to be made,
in four-looted animals, into legs, pasterns, and feet. Man being
the peculiar object of the anatomist's study, the prototype of all
his other inquiries, the standard to which all his comparisons are
referred, we need feel no surprise that the bones of the parts we
are engaged in considering should have received names, according
to horsemen's views, so inapplicable to them. To prevent any
misunderstanding or mistake, however, we must continue these
appellations; we must still call that bone which, in the living
horse, constitutes part of the haunch, os femoris, and that which
really forms the thigh, the tibia.

The appellations, quarter, buttock, and haunch, appear syno-
nymous : at least it is difficult to say what distinctions they admit
of, or to define where one ends and the other begins. Haunch or
hanch is a French word, used to denote cette partie da corps ou
Vimpoita la cuisse : by us it is often used for buttock and thigh
combined. Shakspeare, in his Henry the Fourth, has used the
word in a sense and with a force of expression peculiar to him-
self alone :

•• Thou art a summer bird.
Which ever in the haunch of winter sings
The lifting up of day."

When we say a horse has " fine haunches," we mean to include
his thighs and buttocks : the thigh of the horse indicating the part
of the limb extending from the stifle to the hock.

The OS FEMORIS, the lower haunch-bone of the quadruped, is
similar in its shape and relations to the same bone in the human
frame, but is, in a remarkable degree, a short bone ; whereas in
man it is the longest bone in the body, long thighs enabling us to
take long steps, affording increased space for muscle, and giving
us peculiar advantages on horseback. Long thighs are likewise
advantageous for quadrupeds ; but in them, as has been already
explained, the os femoris constitutes no part of the thigh. Though
articulated by means of a ball-and-socket joint with the pelvis
above it, and by a condyloid or hinge-formed joint with the tibia
(the true thigh-bone of the horse) below it, the same as in man,

84 FORM AND ACTION.

still it is surprisingly short; at the same time, it is certainly the
strongest bone in the body, on account of this shortness being
combined with extraordinary development of its shaft and ex-
tremities. Had Sampson armed himself with the femoral-bone
instead of with the jaw of an ass, he would have found his weapon
for combatting the Philistines a greatly more efficient one.

Any disproportionate length of this bone in the horse would have
thrown the stifle too low down, out of its natural and proper situation,
which is on a level with the inferior line of the body and with the
elbow, the joint in the fore extremity to which the stifle corresponds:
the only augmentation in length the bone admits of being that
which it derives from straightness in the quarters, or the least
possible declination in the position of the pelvis. The straight and
lengthy quarter, therefore, it is which has — providing the depth
of the carcass be undiminished — the greatest length of femoral bone ;
the short and drooping quarter, the least. Here presents itself
another instance to shew that when stride or speed is required
length is given : a horse with long femoral bones will be enabled
in action to throw his hind feet farther forward than another with
short ones ; that motion in the hip-joint which will advance the
short bone as equal to three will project the long one as equal to
four.

I said the hip-joint was of the ball and-socket character, and
therefore it possesses, to a greater or less extent, a rotatory mo-
tion. Through its means it is that the animal has the power of
" tucking his haunches in," or placing his hind foot centrically
underneath his body, in the position, of all others, the most effec-
tive for the propulsion of the machine in action : unless from the
breadth and position of the pelvis, and the connexion with it and
conformation of the hind limbs, he derive this power from the
hip joint, from no other joint, from want of the rotatory power, can
such action proceed. It is quite a mistake to suppose that such
" tucking in" can be produced by the hocks, they admitting but of
simple flexion and extension. Both the fore and hind extremities
derive what faculty of lateral and rotatory motion they possess —
the power of throwing the legs and turning the toes inward or
outward in action — from ball-and-socket joints: the fore extremity
from the shoulder joint, the hind extremity from the hip joint.

THE HAUNCH AND THIGH. 85

There is this important difference, however, in the construction of
these correspondent articulations : the os humeri is placed beneath
the scapula, in such a situation that the weight of the body comes
directly upon its head ; whereas, in consequence of the head or
articulatory part of the os femoris, instead of forming the summit of
the bone, being laterally placed, at a right angle to the shaft of the
bone, the weight is transmitted, not perpendicularly upon the os
femoris, but in an oblique or indirect line. One reason for this ap-
pears evident, in the different relations to the body existing between
the shoulder and hip, the latter being in consolidated connexion
with the body itself, the former attached only through the interven-
tion of muscle. The lateral position of the hip joint serves, in a
measure, to compensate for the want of that elasticity and spring
which the shoulder derives from its muscular attachments, to coun-
teract or mitigate any shock or concussion the limb may sustain in
action, such as from jumping, &c. There is another and a greater
advantage, however, resulting from this position of obliquity. At
the time that the weight of the body is pressing with its greatest
force upon the hip joints, from the pressure being sideways instead
of perpendicular, their motions under the weight are, compara-
tively, easily carried on — the work of progression is saved that
hinderance and difficulty which would have attended the direct
imposition of weight upon these joints, to say nothing about the
friction and wear from concussion the joints themselves must
necessarily have sustained. A third reason for placing the head
of the os femoris in an angular position, and setting it off from the
shaft or body of the bone by means of a neck — for so the inter-
vening portion of bone is called — is, that the joints might possess
an enlarged sphere of motion. In the fore extremity, the scalpula
itself being a moveable bone, the humerus did not require this ;
but in the hind, the pelvis being a fixture to the trunk, it was
necessary to confer as much mobility upon the hip joint as was
compatible with the strength required in it to carry the weight of
the body and to guard against any risk of dislocation. Had any-
thing like the force resulting from weight and action been in
operation in the fore extremity the same as in the hind, the
shoulder joint could never have admitted of the loose and super-
ficial construction it at present, for the sake of motion, enjoys. It

86 FORM AND ACTION.

must have been furnished with the deep socket and complete re-
ception of the ball into it, which we observe in the articulation now
under our consideration.

A beautiful contrivance, however, in defence of dislocation,
whether it be likely to happen from the extensive motion enjoyed
by the hip joint, or from the resistance it opposes to the force of
the weight and shocks it receives, is the round ligament, as it has
been named ; a ligament or round cord, characteristically short
and strong, one end of which is affixed to the centre of the spherical
head of the os femoris, while its other end is rooted into the floor
of the socket in which that head plays : thus in nowise interfering
with the revolutions and turnings of the ball within its socket — in
nowise limiting or abridging the movements of the hind limb,
and yet most effectually, in all those varied movements, preserving
the hip joint from dislocation. By the depth of the acetabulum,
for so the socket in the pelvis is called — which in the recent sub-
ject is still further deepened by an edging of cartilage or gristle,
whose flexibility admits of all the required latitude of motion ; by
the round ligament; and by the thick and powerful muscles by
which it is on every side invested, is the hip joint preserved
from displacement : indeed, without rupture or laceration of the
round ligament it is impossible for dislocation to take place.

Another remarkable feature in the os femoris is the huge ill—
shapen projection proceeding from its upper and posterior part,
which has got the name of greater trochanter, by way of dis-
tinguishing it from a process much less in magnitude arising from
the body of the bone. This protuberant portion of bone may be
regarded in the light of an elbow, or a hock, or any other pro-
jection whose use is to serve as a lever of the most favourable
description, compatible with the situation it is in and to the muscles
to be attached to it. Into the great trochanter are inserted those
powerful muscles which extend the haunches after they have been
flexed and advanced underneath the body, and in this act of exten-
sion propel the machine forward : no wonder, therefore, that it
should have been constructed, in respect to magnitude and posi-
tion, in a manner to offer the greatest possible leverage. When we
see the quarters straight and lengthy, and the stifles prominent
and jutting well forwards, we may take it for granted that the

STIFLE. 87

trochanters partake of the increased length of the femoral bones :
the reverse of this — short quarters and drooping or rounded stifles
—shewing that the femoral bones are short, and their trochanters
likewise.

Taking a side view of the quarter, three prominent points
attract attention ; the round-bone above, the point of the quarter
behind, and the stifle in front ; which three prominences may be
said to constitute the lateral boundaries of the quarter, and, by their
relative distances from one another, and their degrees of promi-
nence or projection, principally to determine its lateral form and
dimensions. It will be remembered that the point of the quarter
owes its existence simply to a process of bone ; whereas both the
round-bone and stifle are constituted of joints, are not fixed but
moveable parts ; not so much parts from which muscles act as on
which their action operates. The round-bone joint we have already
considered ; we will now pass downward to the

STIFLE.

This joint is one of peculiar and beautiful construction — one from
which it would appear the idea of that mechanical power and use-
ful invention, the pulley, took its origin. The joint is formed by
the adaptation of the lower or condyloid end of the femoral bone
to the upper end of the tibia, with the super-addition, in front, of
the patella. The condyloid projections of which the lower end of
the femoral bone is constituted revolve within ovoid, shallow, cup-
like cavities excavated in the top of the tibia; but so superficial
are these cavities, or rather depressions — so incommensurate with
the condyles revolving in or rather upon them, that, in the angu-
lar position in which the femoral and tibial bones relatively stand,
were it not for the super-imposition of the patella, the front of the
joint would be left dangerously insecure and entirely unprotected.

The Patella, or stifle-bone, of the horse, corresponds to the
patella or knee-pan of a man : their anatomical situation and
relations are the same, and they answer similar purposes in both
animal machines. However irreconcileable with any notions of
relative situation it may at first appear to an unprofessional mind,
the stifle of the horse is regarded bv the human anatomist as his

88 FORM AND ACTION.

knee, for the same reason that the veterinarian would look upon
the knee of a man as his stifle. One grand difference, however,
between these structures is, that, in man the femoral bone stands
perpendicularly upon the tibia, whereas, in the quadruped the
bones are placed at a right angle, almost, in regard to each other :
a circumstance from which we may infer that the patella was not
added for the purpose of making the joint complete so much as
for the grand object of serving as a pulley and a lever to the
muscles engaged in the important business of extending the thigh
under the body and aiding in progression. The biped — man — is
enabled to maintain his erect posture with comparative ease, or at
little expense of muscular action, by means, principally, of large
and powerful muscles inserted into his knee-pan : were the knees
not kept straightened the stability and strength of the standing
posture would be lost: when from weakness, or any other cause,
the extensor muscles lose part of their power, so that the legs
cannot be completely straightened, we know how insecure the
standing is, to say nothing of the awkwardness and infirmness it
occasions in progression. Even after a man has had fracture of
one of his knee-pans, and the fractured divisions of bone have
united — as they commonly do through the interposition of liga-
mentous substance — the increased length of the pulley and conse-
quent diminished effect resulting from the contractions of the ex-
tensor muscles, occasions halting in the walk, and detracts from
the stability of the standing posture. To the quadruped these
observations are not altogether strictly applicable. Standing, as
he does, upon four legs, and these being so placed that the body is
mechanically supported by them, after the manner of a stool or
form upon its four supporters, but very little muscular action is
necessary to keep him standing ; and although the muscles affixed
to the patella contribute to this function, yet is that office com-
paratively trifling to the one they perform in the work of pro-
gression. When the hind limbs, through the agency of the flexor
muscles, have been raised or flexed to their utmost, then do the
extensor muscles come into play, projecting the limbs underneath
the body, and pointing the toes forward, in order that they may
become fixed points upon the ground, and serve a* fulcra in the
working of the machine onward.

STIFLE. 89

We may, therefore, fairly ascribe three functions or uses to the
patella. Firstly, it serves to complete the stifle-joint in front, and
to protect it against injury coming in that direction. Secondly, it
forms a pulley, playing over the condyloid surface of the femoral
bone, and thus greatly facilitating the action of the extensor mus-
cles. Thirdly, it may be regarded in the light of a process, though
a moveable one, giving the muscles inserted into it the advantage
of considerable leverage in their operation upon the thigh : con-
sequently, the more prominent the stifle-bone is, the greater the
power given to the muscles. Were there no stifle-bone existing,
the tendons of the extensor muscles of the thigh would have to
play over the bare condyloid cavity of the femur, under the dis-
advantage of increase of friction and loss of leverage ; and had
the bone been fixed instead of moveable, the projection from the
head of the tibia must have been of a lengthy and awkward
shape, and, withal, would not have conferred the same poAver and
facility of action on the muscles which they possess at present.
Perhaps nothing more strikingly demonstrates the utility of the
patella than the accident of its dislocation : the bone has no sooner
slipped out of its place than all power of extension of the thigh is
lost; and the result is, dragging of the toe of the hind leg upon
the ground, the animal having no power to advance the limb un-
derneath the body. The bone, in being dislocated, has got into a
situation in which it is rendered a fixture, and the muscles con-
sequently become powerless. The instant, however, the bone is
righted, all power and action are restored, the same as if nothing
had happened.

The operation of the muscles implanted into the patella, and
through its medium into the tibia or true thigh-bone, is, then, exten-
sion of the thigh, and thereby bringing the leg forward underneath
the body, preparatory to the effort of progression ; the act of pro-
gression itself being, as we shall hereafter discover, mainly effected
by the muscles inserted into the hock, assisted, however, by those
of the patella. Action in the hind extremity is commenced by a
general flexion of the limb — flexion of the femoral bone on the
pelvis, elevating the stifle against the body ; flexion of the tibia
and hock, raising the foot off the ground, and preparing the limb
for projection underneath the body : then comes the act of straight-

90 FORM AND ACTION.

erring to throw the limb forward, and the continuance of the same
act it is, enforced by additional powers, which propels the machine
in progression. A well-formed stifle is, therefore, a point of some
importance, and the best-formed joint of this description is that
which, from the sharpness of the angle between the femoral and
tibial bones, is forced well forward and upward towards the body,
and at the same time discloses through the skin the prominence of
the patella, but particularly that of the rectus muscle above it.
The prominence of the stifle, it is evident, must depend upon the
obliquity of the position of the femoral bone, and the sharpness
of the angle formed between it and the tibia : in one instance,
the stifle will appear bold and obtrusive, abutting almost against
the belly ; in another, it will be seen situated low down upon the
thigh, quite away from the belly; and this latter is the stifle of all
others which indicates, as far as it and its connexions are con-
cerned, want of power and action in the hind quarter.

THE THIGH, OR GASKIN.

What horse-persons now understand by the thigh of the horse
is the part between the stifle and hock joints; a part, anatomically
regarded, that corresponds to the human leg. In the young animal
it is composed of two bones ; but these bones are united by an
elastic (cartilago-ligamentous) substance which, as the animal ap-
proaches the adult period, becomes gradually converted into osseous
matter, until at length the two bones become in reality one and the
same solid structure ; so that in every horse of full growth it would
be but in accordance with truth to say, the thigh was composed of
a single bone. The tibia presents upon its superior end two ovoid
superficial depressions, which are, by the addition of cartilaginous
interventions, rendered deeper and better adapted to receive the
condyles of the femoral bone, the one moving upon the other in
extension and flexion, and having some little lateral motion. The
lower end of the tibia is smaller than the superior, the bone taper-
ing rather from top to bottom, and is shaped so as to accommodate
itself to the construction of the hock-joint.

The chief considerations touching the thigh or gaskin are, its
position, its length, and its thickness or muscularity. In accord-

THE THIGH, OR GASKIN. 91

ance with the harmony of natural formations, where the haunches
are straight and lengthy the thighs become lengthy and receding :
in horsemen's phraseology, they are well "let down;" and the
consequence is, the hocks are low, and the cannons short. The
hind quarter, in fact, altogether, has the turn and appearance of
the greyhound, and is evidently well adapted for purposes of speed.
And, providing all this be accompanied by the requisite substance
or muscularity of parts, a quarter of such a character in a race-
horse must be regarded as one of his very finest and most admira-
ble points. This, in fact, it is that constitutes the veritable blood
quarter — the quarter every man who is seeking after breeding and
speed is ever looking for. And when found with "the thighs let
down into the hocks," or, in other words, with muscle and sinew
from upper end to lower, nothing can surpass it for speed in the
gallop and bottom in continuing it.

I have observed that length and obliquity of thigh are, com-
monly, correspondent formations ; but they are not necessarily so :
we now and then meet with thorough-bred horses with straight
and lengthy quarters, and extreme length of thigh, and yet the
thigh is so straight that its line of descent approaches even the
perpendicular. I remember a racer — " Wouvermans" — who was
most remarkably straight and lengthy in his gaskins, and yet he
performed with considerable eclat. In these cases, length of thigh
affords great stride, and muscularity tells in maintaining it ; but
in the absence of obliquity it is impossible there can be that spring
or elasticity in the movements which is likewise a great promoter
of speed, and which must ever tend to render the production of
speed less expensive to the animal machine. Some greyhounds
are very straight-thighed ; but hares and rabbits, and many other
animals of great speed, possess extreme obliquity, as well as length,
in the conformation of their hind limbs. It may be that the
oblique hind quarters are the most suitable for efforts of bounding
or leaping ; and that, as such, they are of more value in hunters
than in racers.

02 FOllM AND ACTION.

THE HOCK.

The hock — the old and proper spelling of which is hough — of
the quadruped is the same as the heel of man; the os calcis being
the bone, in both instances, by which the projecting parts, com-
monly distinguished by these appellations, is formed : the hock-
joint, altogether, being correspondent to our ancle-joint. The joint,
either as hock or ancle, is composed of six bones, being a sort of
correlative structure to the carpus or knee ; but why so many
pieces enter into its composition is not very apparent, either in
the instance of knee or hock, wherein, as far as the motion of
the joint is concerned, but two appear absolutely requisite. In a
situation where so many pieces are placed to receive the jar or
shock, and where these pieces are reposing upon elastic cushions,
concussion must, no doubt, be very much counter-acted ; to my
mind, however, this does not altogether account for the curious
mechanism displayed in the instance before us, as well as in some
other parts of the skeleton. The lower end of the tibia has two
deep furrows or grooves running obliquely across it, and these are
fitted with admirable precision to a pulley-like surface presented
upwards by the main bone of the hock, the astragalus, upon which
the tibia rests ; and between these two bones, the tibia and astra-
galus, is carried on almost all the motion of which the hock is capa-
ble, they being excellently adapted for the work by the pulley-like
articulation just mentioned. Where is the utility, then, of the other
five bones'? Whatever uses we may be able to attach to the remain-
ing four, the purposes served by one of the five, the os calcis, be-
come too obvious to admit of any question. The point of the hock,
that lever of more power than any one in the machine besides,
through the aid of which the muscles most of all others concerned
in progression are enabled to perform their great work, consists of
the os calcis ; this of itself being the part, as I observed before,
which commonly goes by the name of the hock. When horse-
persons talk about horses having " good" or " bad" hocks, they
allude, for the most part, to the position and length of this lever.
I heard a man, a good judge, say on a race-course on one occasion,
" Shew me the horses' hocks, and I will point out the winner." In

THE HOCK. 93

a word, if there be one " point'" about horses of more importance
than another — one that cannot be tolerated badly formed or im-
perfectly developed — that point is the hock. What, then, is it
that constitutes " a good hock 1 " Firstly, and principally, it ought
to be large in proportion to other parts : a disproportionably small
hock can never prove equivalent in power to a large one of the
same quality. On a lateral view, it should appear broad; and,
on a view from behind, bulky and bony. And, then, the point or
lever should stand boldly and prominently out from behind it, to
a degree to give the tendinous cords affixed to it that set-off from
the limb which enables one to trace them through the skin per-
fectly distinct — isolated as it were — from the substance of the
thigh. " Bad hocks," such as want these " fair proportions," are
deficient in breadth and boldness of feature, and have, in conse-
quence of such deficiencies, a mean, gummy, unattractive aspect.
When the hock, from want of boldness and projection in its point,
is rounded behind, forming, in conjunction with the thigh and leg
in their posterior outline, a sort of semicircle, the horse is said to be
sickle-hocked. And when, from the breadth of the pelvis, or the in-
ward direction given to the tibial bones, the hocks are positioned too
near to each other, the hind cannons running forward and the hind
toes turning outward, the horse is denominated cow-hocked ; cows
being remarkable for such conformation. The cannon, from the
hock, should descend in a vertical line towards the ground ; a
position in which it has more extent of motion, both forward and
backward, and one which gives to the hock its greatest power and
efficiency in action. The longer the thigh and the more the hock
" sets out" behind from the body, the greater the sphere of the
action of the hind limb, though the power of the hock is weak-
ened by the longitude of the tendons inserted into it. That is the
strongest hock which, being of itself well-formed, receives the
muscular substance, along with the tendinous cords, into its very
substance, the two being knit closely and compactly together ; or,
to use the dealer's phrase, " the thighs being let down into the
hocks." A horse with straight thighs will have straight hocks ;
and these, though their straightness cannot be regarded, abstract-
edly, but in a disadvantageous light, while they are the best or
only kind which could have suited such a make of limb, may still

94 FORM AND ACTION.

be good of their kind, and therefore are not to be condemned. The
os calcis may be lengthy and prominent upward, and the lateral
projections may stand well and clearly out from the sides, and the
hock, though straight, may, as I said before, still be considered
good.

Hocks, I must repeat once more before I conclude, are of that
importance in action that they deserve, in our examinations, to
command much attention from us. A horse may have very good
hocks, and yet be so shapen in other respects as to be worth very
little ; but hardly any thing can compensate for bad hocks, the
hock being in its operation that in progression which the oar is to
the boat. Without power therein no horse can go well and long :
he may possess action, but he cannot fail to prove deficient in
strength and endurance.

The bones below the hock being the same in number and kind
as, and similar in structure to, those below the knee, and their rela-
tions and uses being alike, there will be no need here to add any-
thing to the descriptions already given of the cannon and splint,
and pastern and sesamoid bones ; and as every individual part of
the machine, the foot excepted, has now been described, I shall,
in the next lecture, take a review of the skeleton as an entire struc-
ture, entering more fully and practically than has been done before
into the consideration of it as a machine intended for purposes
of locomotion and the carriage of burthen.

LECTURE VIII.

THE PROPORTIONS OF THE HORSE.

In the construction of animal bodies Nature appears to have had
two grand objects in view, utility and beauty. An all-skilful hand has
so made every " living thing," that, with an exterior calculated to
excite our admiration, interiorly it is furnished with every requi-
site for the performance of those functions for which it was created.
How beautifully is this illustrated throughout the animal creation !
How beautifully is it further illustrated throughout individual ani-
mal mechanism ! Not an animal, not a part even of an animal,
but what is made and fashioned after a manner excellent in design,
inimitable in execution. In what the finite view of man regards as

THE PROPORTIONS OF THE HORSE. 95

beauty, no animal, man excepted, is allowed to exceed the horse : the
well-known admired picture which David has drawn of him in the
Psalms ; the eloquent allusions Shakspeare and other writers of
eminence have made to him ; all attest the estimation in which
these great observers of Nature held his form and qualifications ;
nor is " the noble horse" less admired and valued, in our country
at least, at the present day.

Although beauty and utility, as regards animal bodies, on most
occasions are found to go hand-in-hand, the rule is far from want-
ing exceptions. An individual part — the head, for example — may
be small and faultlessly shaped, and yet the possessor of it, as now
and then happens among human creatures, may not be highly
gifted ; on the other hand, a horse having a plain, even an ugly
head, may possess high qualifications. Phrenologists may possibly
set these facts in a different light, though as yet the practical
horseman has not derived that assistance from the science of phre-
nology which more attention to it would probably afford him.
With a view of arriving at a knowledge of that frame-Avork of ani-
mal machinery from which we might reckon on deriving the
greatest power and speed, it was natural enough that any person
engaged in such an investigation should seek for a model of a horse,
and for one of that description which was known and proved to
perform in the most superior manner ; and having succeeded in find-
ing such a model of perfection, it was but natural for him to set it
up as a sort of prototype or standard, whereto others might be com-
pared, and whereby their powers might be estimated. Considera-
tions such as these appear to have prompted the first Professor of
the Veterinary College, St. Bel, to set about and produce his work
" On the Geometrical Proportions of Eclipse." St. Bel's
words in his "advertisement" are, "When first I employed myself in
taking the proportions of Eclipse, I had no other object in view than
to gratify my own curiosity with respect to the figure, extent, and
direction of the parts which compose a race- horse, and to compare
them with those of horses of different kinds, for the purpose of inform-
ing myself of the mechanical causes which conspire to augment the
velocity of the gallop." — " Since it is true, that the construction and
direction of the bony and muscular parts within determine the out-
ward figure of the body, a table of proportions, collected from the best

96 FORM AND ACTION.

race-horses, would be of great service ;" and also " by means of this
table, we should be enabled to establish the true conformation of the
race-horse, and at any given time to discover whether the breed
has improved or degenerated." That Eclipse was a race-horse of
the first distinction, both for speed and bottom, no one will dispute.
He won more and higher renown on the turf than any horse either
before or since his day ; and, therefore, St. Bel had a right to as-
sume that his proportions were, as near as could be obtained from
any one individual, such as a perfect race-horse should possess.

By the " proportions" of an animal body is meant the dimen-
sions— the length, breadth, and thickness — of the various parts or
pieces of which it is composed, in the relation that one part bears
to the entire structure or to another part : for any individual part
may possess in itself very correct relative dimensions, and yet be,
as a component piece of an entire structure, out of proportion, or
not in symmetry with other parts. The eye accustomed to view
animals in regard to their make will in a moment detect any
flagrant disproportion in the constituent parts of a body ; and yet,
were the same person asked what the proportions of the faulty
piece in the structure ought to be, he could probably only answer
you by a reference to the body he had been finding fault with.
St. Bel, following a practice instituted by the great Bourgelat, the
founder of the veterinary schools in France, was prompted by his
example to carry these matters out of the mere pale of specu-
lation, and to institute in the British school what already existed in
the French, viz. a scale of perfect proportions whereto all horses
might be referred, and by which they might be geometrically com-
pared and computed. He had a right to view Eclipse, from his
achievements upon the turf, as a horse, take him altogether, as near
perfection as Nature in her strange and fanciful variety has made
the animal ; and he, therefore, adopted his admeasurements as those
of the proper proportions of a race-horse. And in order that these
proportions might be reduced to a scale, and so be made appli-
cable to horses of all sizes, St. Bel, still treading in the steps of
his great master, Bourgelat, first took the measure of the head of
Eclipse, and by that measurement computed, in regard to length,
all other parts of his body. Whether these chronicled proportions
prove of any practical use to us or not, they will always serve to

THE PROPORTIONS OF THE HORSE. 97

represent what sort or stamp of a horse Eclipse was : a matter so
difficult to determine with any exactness from any painting or
print of him, knowing, as we do, that painters do not, in general,
proceed in their works after any geometrical calculations.

We learn from LECOQ* that the first idea of " proportions" ap-
pears in an Italian work published in the sixteenth century ;
though to Bourgelat are we indebted for their establishment upon
a rational basis. Following Grisonie, Bourgelat assumed as his
" unity of mensuration," the head of the animal to be measured ;
and this he subdivided into three parts, which he called primes;
each prime into three seconds; and each second into twenty-four
points ; making, altogether, 216 subdivisions. Lecoq has reduced
these subdivisions down to hundredths, and has submitted the fol-
lowing scale as that of Bourgelat, with some slight improvements,
founded upon changes in the position of the head and that of the
hind quarters.

The height of the horse, measured from the poll of the head to
the ground, is estimated at three heads' length ; from the top of the
withers to the ground, at 2£. The distance from the point of the
shoulder to the point of the quarter, at 2£ heads' length. The
height from the summit of the croup to the ground at 2T3o8<J. From
the summit of the withers to the point of immersion of the neck in
the throat -^V From this last-named point to the point of the shoul-
der r85%. From the same point to the mane, half a head's length.
From the withers, in a horizontal line, to a level with the lowest
point of the back T6oV From the last-named point, still in a hori-
zontal line, to a level with the summit of the croup -£q%. From the
summit of the croup, extending the same horizontal line, to a level
with the point of the quarter T6o6ff. From the point of the quarter
to that of the stifle -ffo. From one haunch to the other in a direct
line T85%. From the point of one shoulder to that of the other in a
straight line ■££$. The greatest breadth of the belly, in a straight
line, equal to one head's length. The depth of the body, from the
lowest part of the back to its greatest dip, the same. The depth
from the summit of the withers to lowest dip of chest, 1 head Ty<j.

* Traite de TExterieur du Cheval et des Principaux AnimauxDomestiques.

O

98 FORM AND ACTION.

From the summit of the croup to the stifle ^o- From the stifle
to the hock T8oV From the hock to the ground ■&%. From the
withers to the stifle 1 head T6oV From the summit of the croup to
the elbow I head -^*s.

Two questions will naturally arise in the mind here : one is, can
any rules of proportion be ascertained and laid down that will
prove of service to us in practice ? — the other, supposing such rules
can be framed with any prospect of practical advantage to us, upon
what basis or determinate measures ought they to be founded 1 I
will not offend the accomplished "judge of horses," by saying that
he is likely to derive much benefit from the study of any rules of
this kind, however accurate their character ; but I will go so far as
to give it as my opinion, that the student of veterinary medicine,
or tyro in practice, might gain from attention to such rules that
sort and amount of knowledge which would put him, in the course
of>a short time after his application of them to practice, into the
possession of that knowledge which the "judge" had only been
able to arrive at either through extensive and manifold observa-
tion or a lengthened course of practice. In a word, the student
or beginner in such matters would, I do not hesitate to affirm, gain
much ground by making that a study, so far as he could do so,
which his older professional brethren had obtained but through
great opportunities of experience or years of attentive observation.
To give a familiar illustration of this : — a man unread in equestrian
matters is not supposed to know what parts should be long or
what short, in the well-formed horse, or what parts should be large,
what small : he might imagine it to be an affair of little moment,
whether the head were large or small, the neck long or short,
or think that short arms and thighs and very long cannons were
as good as the reverse conformations. But a man whose mind
had been previously furnished with some notions of proper pro-
portions could never run into these palpable errors. Theory would
have taught him differently, and practice would speedily convince
him of the truth or untruth of what he had learnt. So far, rules
of proportion may prove serviceable : so far, and no farther, do
I recommend them to attention.

As every part of the animal machine, to be in just proportion,

THE PROPORTIONS OF THE HORSE. 99

must not only correspond in its dimensions Avith the adjoining parts,
but be likewise commensurate with the magnitude of the entire
structure, it must be evident that we shall not be able to determine
this just proportion with any thing approaching geometrical preci-
sion, unless we possess some definite measure or scale wherefrom to
proceed. The French school, we have seen, took the head of the
horse as a standard whereby all the other parts were to be mea-
sured, and whereto they were to bear certain proportions : others,
however, objected to this standard, and assumed the height of the
animal as the proper primitive measure. In either case a great
difficulty presents itself, and St. Bel experienced this. " Nature
has so diversified the forms of individuals," says the Professor,
" that no common measure can be made to apply equally to every
species." — "If each species has its own style of beauty; if even
each individual has its own peculiar beauty; if it is not pos-
sible to find two horses that perfectly resemble each other, we
cannot pretend to assign any one form preferably to another as
the rule of beauty for the horse. Were persons the best qualified
to endeavour to collect together the different beauties dispersed
among the different individuals, they might, indeed, compose a
model of each species sufficiently perfect to direct the painter or
the statuary, but which would deceive any one who would venture
to choose a horse by it for his own use." At length, however,
St. Bel met this difficulty by paying no attention to what in form
is called " handsome," but solely to " that mechanical construction
of the animal from which result the possibility and extent of those
motions by the means of which he is enabled to transport himself
from one place to another with greater or less speed." — " Eclipse
was never esteemed handsome ; yet he was swift, and the me-
chanism of his frame was perfect." St. Bel had a right to come
to these conclusions from the performances of Eclipse ; and yet the
proportions of this celebrated horse varied from those of the stand-
ard of the French school, setting up, as it were, another standard in
the English college.

The French school, I repeat, regulated their scale of propor-
tions of the horse by the measure of the head ; this regulator, how-
ever, has by others been objected to ; they arguing that it was
more in accordance with nature to assume the height of the animal

100 FORM AND ACTION.

as the datum of their calculations. It is an easy matter to prove
both these methods of proceeding erroneous : the simple question
seems to be, which is the least so. In one mare, for example,
whose height is sixteen hands, the head measures, from poll to
muzzle, twenty-nine inches ; in another mare, of similar breeding
and height, the length of the head is but twenty-five inches and a
half, and we all know that horses of the same height may have
backs long or short, legs long or short, &c. Still, as I have ob-
served before, this is not a sufficient reason for us to cast away and
despise all rules of proportion as worthless. To all general rules,
there are few or many exceptions, and there certainly seem no cases
in which general rules can be applied with so little success as in
the form and action of animals. Even suppose we could estimate
the length, and breadth, and thickness, of every part concerned in
action, to the greatest exactitude, still are there other most material
circumstances, such as the peculiar texture and construction of the
parts, and the amount of vital energy with which the parts are en-
dowed, that regulate in an unknown and incalculable manner the
faculties and powers of action and endurance possessed by the
animal.

Of all individual parts the head is that which earliest attains its
dimensions, and which is the least affected by that growth of the
body which depends so much upon the circumstances of food, situa-
tion, &c. At two years old the head appears to have attained its full
development ; and, I should say that, as there is less variation in
the longitude of heads than in the heights of horses, the head, as
an independent part, affords the best primitive measure we can
obtain for the foundation of our scale of mensuration.

THE PROPORTIONS OF ECLIPSE.

I must confess I feel some surprise that no person since
St. Bel's time — none that I am aware of — has seriously taken up
this subject: at least it must be admitted to be an interesting one ;
one, I think, that may be turned to some useful account; and I
only wish it had fallen into better hands than mine. All who feel
interested in the annals of racing, and in that science which makes
us, on geometrical or mechanical principles, acquainted with " the
form and action" of horses, cannot fail to seek with some eagerness

THE PROPORTIONS OF THE HORSE. 101

what can be learnt about " the best horse that ever lived ;" and
every such person must feel a debt of gratitude to St. Bel for
having, so far as he has, rescued the remains of Eclipse from obli-
vion, in having left us data concerning his shape and action, in
number and nature sufficient to enable us at this distant day to
infer what kind or description of a horse the paragon of racers
must have been.

In St. Bel's " Table of the Geometrical Proportions of Eclipse,"
the head is " divided into twenty-two equal parts," and thus divided
it becomes " the common measure for every part of the body."
Aware, however, of the fallacy of this standard, St. Bel adds, " If
the head appears too long or too short in a horse, that common mea-
sure must be abandoned, and the height of the body taken from
the top of the withers to the ground." Lecoq finds the same diffi-
culty, and instructs us in such a case to assume as the " unity of
mensuration," two-fifths either of the height or of the length of the
body ; from which it would appear that the head is to be presumed
to be of its proper longitude, when two lengths and a half consti-
tute the measure of either the height or the length of the body of
the animal.

We are told by St. Bel, that Eclipse measured 66 inches — ■
16£ hands — in height ; and that he stood higher by an inch behind
than before ; and that this great height was still exceeded by the
length of his body, that being three inches more, or sixty-nine inches.
It is but rarely that we behold a horse of these dimensions, even
among the big Derby colts of the present day ; and when we come
to add fair proportion and power and energy to this gigantic frame,
we shall not feel so much surprise at his wonderful exploits. What
appears most remarkable, however, in the " proportions" of this
famous horse, is the smallness or shortness of his head, it measuring,
according to calculations readily deducible from St. Bel's mensura-
tion, but twenty-two inches ; a circumstance, seemingly, that gave
rise to his subdivision of it into twenty-two parts, each part then
being equivalent to one inch. Hence Eclipse's height being sixty-
six inches, was equal to three heads' length, exceeding that of the scale
or regular-proportioned horse by half-a-head ; and the same excess,
and three inches added to it, occurs in his length : circumstances
mostly, I repeat, attributable to the smallness of his head. Eclipse,

102 FORM AND ACTION.

consequently, was a tall horse and a long horse, a horse higher
behind than before, and, withal, a horse possessing a very small
head.

Either, therefore, there is something fundamentally erroneous in
the standard of the French schools, or else Eclipse must have been,
in his head or other parts, out of proportion. Considering that he
stood sixteen and a half hands high, and that his head measured no
more than twenty-two inches, we need feel no surprise that, while
other horses, according to the scale, were but three heads' length in
height, he measured three and a half heads. I say this will account
for his apparent out-of-proportioned tallness, but it will not account
for his neck measuring thirty-three inches, or being equal to one and
a half head's length. The regular proportion of the length of the neck
being one head, we can in nowise account for the eleven inches in
excess by supposing that the head was two or three or even four
inches shorter than heads in general ; and therefore the inevitable
deduction is that Eclipse had a long neck, certainly a most desirable
formation in a race-horse. His neck, as well as being long, was
likewise well-proportioned ; for it measured in width twenty-two
inches at its junction with the shoulders, and yet was but a foot
across at its union with the head, shewing how beautifully it must
have tapered upward : whether it was of the rainbow shape, or
was straight, is not quite evident.

The head of Eclipse must have partaken a good deal of the
Arabian character ; and no wonder, since, on the side of his dam,
he is only the sixth remove from the pure Arabian : his dam being
got by Regulus ; his grandam by a full brother to Wildman's
Squirrel; his great grandam by Lord Darcey's Montague; his
great great grandam by Hautboy ; his great, great, great grandam
by Brimmer, son of the Oglethorp Arabian.

Below* the eyes, St. Bel informs us, it measured, across, one
foot ; but from one eye to the other only seven inches ; shewing
that along with this extraordinary breadth of forehead his eyes
were well placed, towards the centre of his head : points not only
of utility, but of beauty likewise.

The breadth of the lower or posterior part of the neck (twenty-

* This must be an error. The measure must have been taken above the
eyes, from one orbital arch to the opposite.

THE PROPORTIONS OF THE HORSE. 103

two inches), with the measure of the scapula, eighteen inches, and
the largeness of the chest, are circumstances sufficient for us to
come to the conclusion that Eclipse possessed some depth of
shoulder ; it was likewise oblique, for its angle of inclination
amounted to 70° : in fact, all the fault St. Bel could find with the
shoulder appears to have been, that it was " too much loaded ;"
a fault, if fault it be, that certainly denotes strength, and one
which, I feel no doubt, many racing people would prefer to " a fine
shoulder."

Eclipse's body measured, across its middle, twenty-six inches in
depth, and the same in breadth ; consequently he must have pos-
sessed " a circular barrel ;" and his girth, around the middle of his
body, at least, must have been — taking twenty-six inches for the
diameter of the circle — seventy-eight inches ; a circumstance
which, unless we take it to have been that of the bare bones, or of
a horse drawn or fallen away, certainly presents nothing extraor-
dinary. There must have been a remarkable squareness about
the body of Eclipse, inasmuch as lines running transversely from
the withers to the stifle, and from the summit of the rump to
the elbow, proved of equal lengths. What his actual girth was
does not appear ; but, according to the depth of his shoulders, it is
evident he must have been deep in his chest, or let down in his
brisket ; and that his circularity of chest did not prevail in the
fore parts, so as to throw his fore limbs wide apart, is certain, from
the measurement of the interval between his arms being no more
than seven inches.

The dip in Eclipse's back does not appear to have exceeded
much two inches ; it might, according to St. Bel's account, have
been three inches ; so that he could not have been a horse that
" rose" much in his withers : his height was sixty-six inches, and
he measured two heads and twenty parts, or sixty-four inches, in
the middle of his back, just posterior to the place of dip; for
which I allow (too much, perhaps) an inch, making the amount of
dip, as I said before, at the very utmost, three inches. From the
place of dip, the line of his back inclined (in a curve) upwards,
rising at the summit-point of his quarters to one inch higher than
he rose at the withers, from which it very gradually declined, but
not with much incurvation, if any, to the tail. Eclipse, therefore,

104 FORM AND ACTION.

had a back roached rather towards the loins, but straight quarters,
and, as we shall find, also lengthy quarters.

What we have to admire, as much, perhaps, as any points in
Eclipse, is the length and breadth of his arms and thighs : he being,
in the fullest sense of the words, a large-limbed horse. His arm
measured, across, from the front to the point of the elbow, the sur-
prising breadth of ten inches, and was longer by two inches than,
according to the length of the entire limb, it is in horses in general ;
the measurement, by the scale, being equal between the elbow and
bend of the knee, and the latter and the ground : immediately above
the knee the arm measured five inches across, shewing that it pre-
served its great breadth all the way down.

For the relative lengths of the different parts of the fore limb,
we must content ourselves with St. Bel's measurements of the
bones. The radius was sixteen inches long, the cannon-bone
twelve inches; the pastern, coronet, and coffin-bones, together,
seven inches in length : from all which it seems, according to the
measurement of other horses, we may infer that Eclipse had, with
his long and broad arms, short cannons, and by no means lengthy
pasterns.

There must have existed considerable harmony of proportion,
and consequently beauty of form, in Eclipse's hind quarters. A
line extended from the summit of his rump proved the measure of
another passing from the root of the tail to the stifle, to a second
drawn between the latter point and the hock, and to a third from
the hock to the toe of the hoof. The breadth of the thigh, " taken
below the fold of the buttock," was great, ten inches ; the same as
the arm across at the elbow. Likewise there was great extension
between the point of the hock and the bend of the ham, the
measure being eight inches ; shewing Eclipse must have been the
possessor of extraordinarily broad or good hocks, a point of the very
first importance in a racer. The cannons and pasterns measured,
as is always the case, longer in the hind than in the fore limbs.

Eclipse's limbs were not only large, but long : he must have been
what is called a " long-legged" horse ; for St. Bel tells us, he
measured forty-one inches from his elbow to the ground ; leaving
but twenty-five inches — his height being sixty-six — in a per-
pendicular line to the top of the withers ; and as the general rule

THE PROPORTIONS OF ECLIPSE. 105

is, that horses should measure equal lengths from the fetlock to
the elbow, and from the latter to the withers, if we subtract the
length of the pasterns and foot, altogether, say nine or ten inches, or
even a foot, we shall still have an excess of length of limb. After
we have been told, however, that his chest measured twenty-six
inches in diameter, there appears something rather irreconcileable
with the statement that from the withers to the elbow is but
twenty-five inches. It is not my desire to impugn St. Bel's
" table," though I must say that in this, and one or two places
besides, there appears some discordance in his admeasurements.

We may, however, I think, safely receive as matter of fact
the following summary : —

Eclipse was " a big horse" in every sense of the words : he was
tall in stature, lengthy and capacious in his body, and large in his
limbs. For a big horse, his head was small, and partook of the
Arabian character. His neck was unusually long. His shoulder
was strong, sufficiently oblique, and, though not remarkable for, not
deficient in depth. His chest was circular. He rose very little in
his withers, being higher behind than before. His back was
lengthy, and over the loins roached. His quarters were straight,
square, and extended. His limbs were lengthy and broad, and
his joints large : in particular his arms and thighs were long and
muscular, and his knees and hocks broad and well-formed.

That which, however, constituted, in St. Bel's eye, " the most
beautiful and important quality of his structure" was the perpendi-
cular lines drawn through his fore and hind limbs : indeed, so per-
fect were they, that " they may serve," adds St. Bel, " as rules in
the choice of the best racers."

The first perpendicular falls from (what we call "the
point of the shoulder") the articulation of the humerus with the
scapula, precisely upon the front of the toe.

The second falls from the upper part of the fore-arm or elbow
to the heel of the fore foot, dividing in its course, longitudinally,
the fore-arm, knee, and cannon.

St. Bel's third perpendicular is but a part of his second ; and his
fourth drops equidistant between the fore limbs. We, therefore,
shall pass to

The fifth, which falling from the point of the stifle, according

P

10G FORM AND ACTION.

to the regular scale, should come in contact with the toe of the
hind foot, but in Eclipse struck the ground half-a-head 's length
(eleven inches) in front of the hoof.

The sixth descends from the point of the hock, along the
tendon of the hind leg, and, touching the heel of the fetlock, falls to
the ground behind the heel of the hoof.

The SEVENTH falls equidistant between the hind legs.

The EIGHTH and ninth have reference to the body. One
falls from the withers to the ground, touching the point of the elbow
in its descent ; the other from the middle of the back, through the
body, to the central point of the quadrilateral figure described by
the position of the four legs.

All these perpendiculars proved true in Eclipse; one alone
differed from those of the approved scale, and this difference, we
shall find, was attended with advantage : indeed, Eclipse's forma-
tion in this respect would appear to have corrected a grand error
in the geometrical figure of the French schools.

In describing the differences between the proportions of Eclipse
and those of the table of the French schools (which he reckoned
to be five, viz. extraordinary height, both of head and body ; extra-
ordinary length of neck ; the perpendicular from the stifle ; and
the greater length of arm) St. Bel omitted a very important differ-
ence, deducible from his own statements, which is, extraordinary
length of limbs compared with the depth of body. St. Bel's ad-
measurements, as far as they go, have no doubt enabled us to
make out what sort of a horse Eclipse was ; but his mensuration
might, in such a case as this, with much advantage have been
carried a great deal farther — might, for example, in the instance of
the limbs, included the circumferences of different sections, and, in
many other parts, their relative span or thicknesses — also due allow-
ances ought to have been made for the age and condition of his
subject. He tells us, he "took the proportions of Eclipse while
living, and satisfied his curiosity after his death upon his skeleton,
by dissecting his body himself."

It may not be out of place, or unacceptable, to conclude this ac-
count of our prodigy of horse-flesh with the remarks, that Eclipse
lived to the age of twenty-six, and died of " a violent cholic," on
the 27th of February, 1789, at 7 o'clock, P. M.; and that, after a

THE MUSCLES. 107

very minute post-mortem examination, St. Bel came to the conclu-
sion that his death was owing to disease of the kidneys, combined
with "violent inflammation of the bowels;" and found that his
heart weighed fourteen pounds*.

LECTURE IX.

ACTION.

Properly speaking, the phrase locomotion denotes the faculty
an animal possesses of transporting his body or moving himself
from place to place; the term action expressing his mode or
manner of doing this. No horse, in his healthy or normal state, is
without the power of locomotion ; though there are only certain
horses that, in the estimation of the connoisseur, possess action.
Action, however, is not infrequently used in a generic sense, being
then synonymous with locomotion ; the kind of action being ex-
pressed by such epithets as good, bad, high, low, round, darting,
&c, and this is the sense in which I purpose employing it on the
present occasion.

For the performance of action or locomotion, two sets of struc-
tures are needful : one, which is passive, the bones, I have already
had under consideration ; the other, the active power, the muscles,
I shall now consider.

THE MUSCLES.

The flesh investing the osseous fabric of an animal body proves,
on dissection, divisible into numerous distinct pieces or portions,
various in shape and magnitude, and so disposed that, through a
power every portion, independently, possesses of contracting or
shortening its length, the bones by them are flexed or extended one
on the other, according as is required for the purposes of action or
locomotion. That inimitable piece of mechanism, the skeleton, is,
as we have already seen, so constructed as to admit of the bones,

* Notwithstanding this — as it appears it must have — including the blood
the heart contained, still the weight must be regarded as enormous.

108 FORM AND ACTION.

through the means of their joints, moving upon each other, to that
extent and in that direction, which is needed for the action of the
parts ; and the muscles or acting powers superadded to it, are so
applied and distributed upon it, that, while they are enabled to
move every part in the manner it was designed to move, they, so
far from encumbering or disfiguring the frame-work, confer upon
it beauty of form and handsome exterior. It is true that the mus-
cles might have been placed greatly more to their advantage as
moving powers ; but in such case not only must outward appear-
ances have been sacrificed, but the form of the animal would have
turned out such as would have materially interfered with his present
functions and uses : thus what he had gained in power he would
have more than lost in inaptitude and encumbrance.

The bones, in their figure and in the construction of their joints,
offer every facility compatible with the general form of the animal,
to the agency of the muscles, the power of the latter depending
upon that facility, which is greater in some subjects than in others,
and upon their own magnitude and texture. The principle upon
which movement is effected is that of the mechanical power of the
lever — the greater the leverage presented by the bones, the greater
the effect of the action of the muscle upon it ; and as muscles, gene-
rally speaking, possess power commensurate with their size, the
larger the muscle the greater its power of contraction or action.
These are the two leading principles on which depend the powers or
strength of an animal ; there is a third, also to be taken into con-
sideration, which is the texture of the muscle, the quality of its
fibre or component parts. That horse whose bones are so formed
and arranged as to offer the longest or most advantageous levers,
will, cceteris paribus, prove the strongest or most powerful : sup-
posing, however, his muscles to be deficient in power, from want-
ing bulk, or from being lax or adulterated in composition, his
length of lever will prove of little profit to him. The same may
be said in cases where the muscles are powerful, but the leverage
short or upright, and consequently disadvantageous.

In the course of our investigation into the quality of bone in
horses of different breeds or kinds, we detected a manifold differ-
ence between the solidity and texture of the bone of the cart-horse
and that of the race-horse ; and if we prosecute our inquiries still

THE MUSCLES. 109

further, we shall find some such differance existing between the
muscular fibre of the high and that of the low bred animal. In
proportion as the fibres of flesh run fine and free from adulteration
of adipose and cellular tissue, so are they apt and powerful in
action. The heart is one of the finest and cleanest muscles in the
body, being required to act with promptness, energy, and duration ;
and for the same reasons blood-horses are constituted of finer and
cleaner muscular fibre than cart and mongrel-bred horses.

Independently, however, of original constitution, muscular fibres
will be large and clean and fit for action according to the exercise
or work they may have been in the habit of performing for some
considerable time past. When we hear it said that one horse (of
the same breed) is " in condition," and another " not," we may take
it for granted that the muscles of the one have, through a course of
exercise and labour, called training, been got into that state of per-
fection wherein they are capable of performing double or treble
what they could have done in a state of idleness or comparative
inactivity ; and hence it is that by all connoisseurs in horseflesh so
much importance is ever laid upon condition. The same horse in
condition and out of condition might be, without much hyperbole,
pronounced to be quite a different species of animal ; for not the
muscles only, but the bones, and no doubt other parts as well,
under such totally opposite circumstances, undergo, in the course of
time, very material alterations in their composition. Indeed, to
minute differences of texture existing between the organs of loco-
motion in animals of high and low breeding — taking into our ac-
count the amount of nervous energy either respectively possess —
would appear to be mainly attributable those differences of action
and capability so characteristic of the two breeds. The race-horse
and cart-horse have the same number and shape of bones and mus-
cles, the same locomotive apparatus, in fact, both as regards frame-
work, jointing, arrangement, and distribution ; and yet nobody
expects the cart-horse to run a race, or the race-horse to go to
plough or drag a brewer's dray. St. Bel took up this interesting
question, and considered the explanation of it to reside in the re-
spective weights of the animals and in the " mechanical arrange-
ment" of the locomotive organs. His words are, " How different is
the gallop of the large dray-horse from that of the race-horse ! It

110 FORM AND ACTION.

is with difficulty that the -former moves his body to determine it
into the place required. He gathers the ground heavily under him
at each step, and the translation of his bulk is but tardily effected.
The latter, on the contary, flies like an arrow from a bow, and scarce-
ly imprints the ground with his shoe ; often running over a space
of four miles in less than eight minutes. These are, however, but
individuals of the same class. The number of parts which conspire
to effect their respective progression is the same in each ; but these
parts differ in their bulk, their extent, and their direction ; from
whence result different degrees of power in the levers which they
form. So that we are not to imagine that the mass or weight is
the only cause of his slowness, which rather proceeds from mechani-
cal arrangement of the parts, whose relation and correspondence
determine the extent of his motions." No doubt, allowances must
be made for " the mass or weight" of the cart-horse as compared
with the blood-horse : it is not so much, however, the dead weight
of their bodies as it is the bulk of their frames — that which is spread
out in the one being condensed and consolidated in the other, with-
out any material loss of power or strength. A reduction of the
bulk of parts, renders them not only actually lighter but fitter for
conve}rance through the air at a quick rate ; and when this is
effected with increased advantages of lever and facilities for motion,
speed must result : the loss of strength not being commensurate
with the gain of speed. What, however, as I said before, has as
much or more to do with enhancing the animal's powers of speed
and endurance than either his diminished bulk on any notable
differences in the " mechanical arrangement" of parts, is the dif-
ference of texture between one and the other, combined with the
endowment of a higher amount of nervous energy : for, regard the
differences of structure or texture as we may, they are still of
themselves insufficient to account for those excellencies which are
comprehended in the phrase " blood" or " breeding" ; and which
we well know from experience will carry the animal through his
labours when every thing else would fail. Vital or nervous en-
dowment, mysterious and incapable of physical demonstration as it
may be to us, must, therefore, ever be taken into the account of
feats of action and endurance : and when large horses possess this
fineness of fibre, together with the requisite nervous energy, we

THE MUSCLES. Ill

know they will " beat" all little horses. Eclipse was, altogether, a
stupendous horse ; and with his powers and breeding combined,
no competitor could live with him. The reason why, in general,
little horses are better than big ones is, that they inherit a concen-
tration of power and energy which the larger sort seldom possess :
the moment, however, a breed of good large horses is discovered,
the little sort cannot fail to fall into the background.

When we reflect on the quick and varied motion of which an
animal body is susceptible, — the number of parts there are to be
moved, and that every muscle or moving power necessarily has its
antagonist muscle or power, we shall not feel so much surprise at
learning that there are upwards of three hundred muscles distri-
buted over the body and limbs, and that these vary almost in every
possible degree in magnitude, and are of an endless variety of shape
or figure. Being mostly for the purpose of locomotion, the majo-
rity and the largest of them run from the body to the limbs ; and
the hind limbs, from having a great deal more to perform than the
fore, possess the largest and thickest masses of muscle. The parts
called the buttocks or quarters being composed of muscles whose
office it is to propel the animal onward in progression, necessarily
possess great fleshiness and bulkiness. The fore limbs are slender
compared with the hind, they having little more to perform than to
support or sustain the fore half of the body, and head and neck, and
not to do much work in progression. I said before, and I repeat
here, that as muscles are worked or exercised, so do they become
large or powerful; and this, independently of original formation, will
go far to account for their increased size in the hind as compared with
the fore quarters, as well as for their largeness or plumpness in ani-
mals in condition, and for their smallness or flabbiness in such as
are out of condition. View the race-horse brought to the starting
post in condition to run ; mark his beautiful satiny skin, elevated
into prominences by the muscles underneath, which appear dis-
tinct enough through it almost to admit of anatomical demonstra-
tion : then feel his muscles, grasp his crest and shake his neck,
and mark how firm and hard his flesh is, and how whipcordy
and clean his sinews have through training become ; in fine, what
a totally different creature he is from what he was before being
put into condition to race.

112 FORM AND ACTION.

The Structure of Muscles is fibrous. So many packets of
fleshy fibres, constituting in reality so many lesser muscles, dis-
posed in parallel lines, and united together into one mass of flesh,
form a distinct and separate muscle. But these packets are divisi-
ble into smaller packets, and these again are resolvable into fibres
of a still smaller description ; and of what the ultimate or primi-
tive fibres consist, or what their true nature may be, microscopical
observers are hardly yet agreed, some contending that they are
tubular, others that they are beaded filaments. Be which or
what they may, during life they possess the power of contracting
or shortening themselves; and through this vital property of con-
traction it is that all the motions and movements of the body are
effected. The order or stimulus for muscular contraction is given
by the brain, and conveyed to them through the medium of the
nerves ; and the action proves feeble or forcible, according to the
nature of the order or the amount of nervous energy emitted into
the muscle. What muscular contraction is, how the phenomenon
is effected, remains, after a host of minute and searching inqui-
ries, still problematic : we know little more about it than that it is
present with life and absent in death, and that, therefore, it is not
dependent on elasticity or any abstract physical force.

The TENDONS or sinews with which most muscles are provided,
and which are different altogether in their appearance (being white)
and their texture from the muscles themselves, possess no power of
contraction, neither are they elastic : they can neither shorten nor
elongate. They are, in fact, simple cords connecting the mus-
cles with such parts as they are designed to put in motion, and,
being so much smaller than the muscles themselves, are on that
account capable of being intruded into the composition of parts,
without adding inconveniently to their bulk, or destroying their
symmetry. Through the intervention of tendon, for example, mus-
cles situated in the arm flex and extend the foot. Had there been
no tendon or sinew, the fleshy parts of the muscles must have
been continued to the foot, thereby rendering the leg an awkward-
shaped appendage, as large round, or nearly so, as the arm itself.
The " back sinews," as the flexor tendons are commonly called, are
stout firm cords attaching the flexor muscles — forming the poste-
rior part of the arm — to the pasterns and foot. The more promi-

MUSCULAR MOTION. 113

nent and perceptible they are to the grasp of the finger and thumb,
the " better" in kind we reckon them to be ; and it is, perhaps, as
good a criterion of their quality as we can have, that they " stand
out well" from the cannon bone, feel tense, and hard, and clean, and
perceptibly distinct from another cord, between them and the bone,
the suspensory ligament, and that the leg altogether, below the
knee, measures much in breadth and much in circumference.

MUSCULAR MOTION.

The property possessed by an animal body of locomotion — self-
movement — is of a nature altogether different from any we witness
in machinery: how ingenious soever a piece of mechanism may be,
and imitative of the movements of the vital machine, there is still
this essential difference between them — that one moves through an
extrinsic force or power communicated to it ; whereas, in the other,
the power of motion is created or generated. It is, in the strictest
sense of the words, a self-moving machine, the other being but
self-moved : and in the muscles reside the source of motion.
They, during life, possess power of contracting or shortening
their lengths, through which simple change all the movements
of the body are brought about. What it is that enables them to
contract, what alterations of structure or arrangement they undergo
during contraction, is a question that has puzzled those who have
made themselves best acquainted with their intimate texture and
organization. We must, therefore, content ourselves with a know-
ledge of the established facts, that the self-moving power resides
in the muscles, and is dependent on their vitality ; dead muscle,
or flesh, being devoid of any such property.

The contraction of a muscle has the effect of bringing nearer
together the parts to which its ends or extremities are attached ;
either both attachments move in approximation, or, one being fixed,
the other moves towards it. The tail, e. g. (which is a good ex-
emplification of muscular action), is raised by the contraction of
muscles running from the croup to its upper surface, called, from
their office, the erector es coccygis ; and is depressed by muscles
running underneath, from within the pelvis to its under surface,

Q

U4 FORM AND ACTION.

named the depressores coceygis. There are likewise two other
muscles, one on each side, having the power of curving or flexing
the tail around the quarter, either to the right or left side, accord-
ing as the right or left muscle is in action. Altogether there are
eight — four pairs of — muscles belonging to the tail : two for rais-
ing it, two for depressing it, two for forcibly compressing it against
the rump, and two for curving it either on one side or the other.
Less than eight muscles would have proved insufficient for the
various movements of which the tail is capable, and with the
eight, admirably arranged as they are, the tail may be made to
perform movements in any radial direction of a circle; and, indeed,
by the alternate action of them, to describe a sort of circular mo-
tion, such as we every now and then perceive when the horse is
switching off flies, or making efforts to rid himself of any source of
annoyance or irritation.

In the ordinary or natural manner in which a horse carries his
tail, the action of the muscles may be said to be nicely balanced ;
none are forcibly contracted — none completely relaxed — all are in
that semi-contracted, semi-relaxed condition, which, by physiolo-
gists, is characterized as their tone : and this tone is said to be
good or bad according as, from previous exercise and other cir-
cumstances, they are in a condition to do much or little work.
While a horse is going, the coccygeal muscles participating in the
general action of the body, the tail becomes partially erect ; but,
while in the stable, every muscle ceasing to act, it droops from its
own weight, and lies at rest against the quarters : and this is, in
truth, the only real relaxation or repose these muscles experience;
for, while the erectors are elevating the tail, the depressors are not
passively relaxed, but, like hands employed in moderating exten-
sion, lest the part be over-stretched, are engaged in keeping up a
proper degree of counter-extension. The operation of nicking
plainly elucidates the effects of muscular action : the depressor
muscles of the tail being severed, the erectors, every time the
horse is set in action, elevate the tail to the uttermost, and main-
tain it thus preternaturally erected, there being no controlling
powers to moderate the elevation.

Another effect of muscular contraction well exemplified by the
tail, is, the prodigious force muscles aw? capable of exerting. All

MUSCULAR MOTION. 115

practical horsemen full well know, that, to raise the tail of a strong-
docked horse, requires often more than the strength of the strongest
man's arm. Horse-dealers and grooms, indeed, and connoisseurs
in horses, often take the strength of the dock (of the tail) as an
estimate of the general muscular powers of the animal ; and the
criterion is one by no means to be despised, it being but reasonable
to infer that great strength in one part would not be unattended
with correspondent power in others.

The limbs of the horse furnish us with beautiful illustrations of
the force and velocity, extent and variety, of muscular motion.
In the fore-limb no less than thirty muscles are employed; eighteen
being occupied in the movements of the shoulder and arm, the
remaining twelve with those of the leg and foot. When speaking
of the bones composing these parts, I said that between the shoul-
ders the fore-quarters of the body were in a manner suspended
through the medium of attaching muscles. There is one muscle
especially designed for the performance of this function — the ser-
ratus magnus — a muscle of vast magnitude and power, which,
though by anatomists regarded but as one, might with just reason,
by the physiologist, be described as many ; inasmuch as by such a
supposition alone can he account for its unwearied discharge of the
laborious duties assigned it. Its twelve distinct origins from the
cervical vertebrse and ribs ought to be considered as twelve distinct
portions of it ; some of which are in continual action, while the
others are recruiting their tone by repose. Another important duty
performed by this muscle, and one in which it is probable most if
not all of its divisions are engaged, is that of, during the action of
the fore-limbs, fixing the central part of the scapula to the ribs
while its upper and lower ends revolve, in segments of circles,
backwards and forwards ; the other muscles attaching the scapula
to the trunk being employed in effecting the revolving movements.

With the exception of the joint at the shoulder, between the sca-
pula and humerus, the joints of the fore-limb are so constructed that
they can hardly be said to admit of any motions beyond those of
flexion and extension ; and therefore a very proper division of the
muscles moving them has been made into fexors and extensors.
It might be imagined that one or two of each sort would be all that
was required for such simple movements ; when, however, it is

116 FORM AND ACTION.

considered that the knee-joint admits of some trifling lateral motion}
and that through it some variety is given in progression to the
direction of the leg, it will be seen that more became necessary
to give steadiness and precision, as well as due force and effect, in
action. The flexor muscles are more numerous and powerful than
the extensors, because all action in the fore-legs consists in flexion :
during extension the animal is standing still. There is an import-
ant extensile movement in the arm performed by the extensor bra-
chii, whose point of insertion is the process we call the elbow, and
which, in the living animal, is recognized by the remarkable plump-
ness of flesh immediately above that process, and before the girth-
ing-place. Every "judge" of horses knows that prominence at
this part constitutes an excellent "point;" it being of the very
first consequence that the arm should be extended with force, and
be firmly maintained in this extension, both on account of the pro-
jection of the limb in action, and for sure and safe alighting and
standing upon it. When the horse is throwing his fore-legs
straight out in the gallop, or projecting them, dart-like, in the trot,
this is the muscle which, as far as the arm is concerned, is chiefly
employed ; therefore strength of action, if not extent of projecture,
will mainly depend upon its magnitude or efficiency.

The muscles designed for the motions of the leg and foot are
situated upon the arm — in the hind extremity upon the thigh ;
there being, as I before observed, no muscle or flesh, but tendon or
sinew alone, below the knee and hock ; and these muscles are in-
serted into the uppermost part of the leg, as close as possible
to the centre of motion — the knee or the hock. Considering the
length of the lever from either of these parts to the extremity of the
hoof, it will at once appear to what a great disadvantage these
muscles are acting ; when we come, however, to reflect, that the
tendons could not have proceeded in the straight or direct line to
the foot, on account of the infraction upon the form of the limb,
and that by the present admirable arrangement, though power
be lost, velocity of movement is gained, and gained in a manner
to compensate even for that loss of power, we shall discover that
an all-wise hand has in the construction of these parts not only
overcome every difficulty, but at once accomplished every desira-
ble object. For every half inch of contraction of the muscle, and

MUSCULAR MOTION. 117

corresponding half inch of space through which the leg revolves at
the knee, the hoof at the extremity of the lever will move through
a space equal in extent to as many feet, and the velocity of mo-
tion being augmented in increasing proportion, it is evident that
the force with which the foot strikes the ground must be greater
even than if the muscles had been prolonged and attached to the
foot itself. The increased weight of the horse-shoe at the very
extremity of this lever will, when once set in motion, by adding to
the momentum, like the weight upon the fly-wheel, augment still
more this force ; though, of course, it will require greater exertion
in the muscles, and so tend to tire the animal all the sooner.
Short cannons, in reference to muscular action, are, therefore, pre-
ferable to long ones, because their leverage is less, and because
with long arms there is greater length and strength of muscle ;
though it will be seen, from what has been said, that, in a mecha-
nical point of view, they are not calculated to move with the same
degree of velocity as long ones*.

The muscles of the back, loins, and haunches, are remarkable for
their size and power, and for the important parts they perform
in progression. It has been before observed, that, for strength, the
loins should be " broad and rounded, the haunches fleshy, and the
thighs let down to the hockst ;" all which amounts to nothing more
than saying, that the muscles constituting these parts should be
large and powerful, it being quite impossible that a horse of slender
muscularity in these — the most important of all — parts, in propor-
tion, can either " go," or " maintain the pace" as a hunter or racer ;
the loins being the parts from which, when the hind feet have been
projected forward and placed to serve as fulcra upon the ground,
the spring is made which impels the whole machine omvard, and
the haunches being the chief agents in the propulsion. In racers,
as has been observed on a former occasion, the loins and hind quar-
ters are considered as of paramount importance ; in greyhounds, in
the deer species, in hares, rabbits, &c, in fine, in all quadrupeds of
speed, the same conformation is remarkably characteristic ; plainly

* See what has been said about long and short arms and cannons in the
description of the bones,
f In Lecture I.

118 FORM AND ACTION.

shewing whereabouts the power for fast and efficient galloping
should be lodged.

Although we are unable to account for the production of muscu-
lar motion, the principles directing its agency on the framework of
the skeleton are clearly those of mechanics ; the lever being the
power according to the laws of which locomotion may be said to
be effected. The bones constitute " a series of levers," on which
the muscles operate with more or less advantage and effect, de-
pending upon their length, their position, their prominences or pro-
cesses, &c. Of levers we know there are three kinds; and of each
of them examples may be found in the animal economy.

For instance, the extension of the fore-limb is effected on the
principle of that description of lever in which the fulcrum, or axis,
or centre of motion, is situated between the moving power and the
resistance or part to be moved ; whereas, in the flexion of the limbs,
both fore and hind, in general, the power holds the intermediate
place. When the arm is extended, the elbow-joint becomes the
fulcrum ; the point of the elbow, to which the muscles are attached,
the power ; and the limb itself the weight or resistance. When
the arm is flexed, the elbow-joint is still the fulcrum, but the power
is now transferred to the radius, the resistance being the same :
thus furnishing us with an example of a lever of another kind, one
in which the power is intermediately placed. A third kind of lever
is exemplified in the extension of the hock, the foot being upon the
ground : the foot now becoming the fulcrum, the point of the hock
the seat of the power, and the resistance or weight to be moved
forward, falling down the shaft of the tibia, operating upon the hock-
joint. The same lever appears in the extension of the fetlock
after it has been flexed in action for the purpose of pointing and
fixing the toe in the ground, which then becomes the fulcrum,
the power being exerted at the summit of the sesamoids, and the
resistance bearing upon the large pastern. These laborious duties
in the work of progression which the hind fetlocks, in concert with
the hocks, have to perform, acccount for their failure in horses
doing much heavy draught, or that have hunted or raced much in
heavy grounds.

It being a law in mechanics, that any deviation of the direction
of the power from a perpendicular line to the arm of the lever is

MUSCULAR MOTION. 119

attended with a corresponding decrease of force, and that the nearer
the power approaches to the parallel line with the lever the weaker
its effect, so much of the force being consumed in efforts either to
drag the lever against the fulcrum or force it off, it will at once ap-
pear evident at what a great disadvantage or sacrifice of power
the muscles of the limbs, from their parallelism with the bones,
are in general acting. This disadvantage, however, as I said be-
fore, is greatly compensated for by the velocity acquired by the
length of the resisting arm of the lever, and the comparative short-
ness of that to which the power is affixed. Where power, how-
ever, is wanted, as in the hock and fetlock joints of the hind ex-
tremity, although celerity of motion is still preserved by the dis-
tance at which the fulcrum is removed from the power, the requi-
site force is gained by the proximity of the latter to the resistance.
"We now perceive the advantages derived from length of hock and
length of elbow, and from broad or prominent fetlocks ; we may
also calculate to how much greater effect the muscles in the haunches
and shoulders will act, where the bones are placed at right angles
nearly to each other, and when, consequently, the power of the
lever operates perpendicularly to its arm. In the case of the flexor
muscles of the arm playing over the head of the humerus, and that
of the extensors of the thigh playing upon the patella, pulleys are
established, which, though of a nature too simple in themselves
to afford any advantage as pulleys, yet increase the power of the
muscles attached to them by giving a more advantageous direction
to the power over the resisting arm of the lever. These beautiful
contrivances are likewise attended with the convenience of per-
mitting the muscles from which the power originates being placed
out of the direct line of action, in situations where they accord with
the contour and proportions of the limb.

120 FORM AND ACTION.

LECTURE X.

THE ACT OF STANDING.

It might appear that the quadruped, with his four legs as props
of support, was sustained mechanically in the standing posture, after
the manner of a four-legged stool or form ; and, nicely poised as
his body is between them, and advantageously placed as the legs
evidently are for its support, at first sight the animal structure is
not unlikely to impart a notion of the kind. As anatomists, how-
ever, we know that the limbs, from the circumstance of their being
made with joints in them would, were they not themselves sus-
tained by some superadded power, bend and give way under the
superincumbent weight, and let the body down; we know also
that the faculty they possess of supporting the body is essentially
a vital one, the dead animal losing the property of standing. It is
from the operation of the living muscles on the bones that the
animal derives the power of standing, as well as of moving ;
therefore it is that, when we speak of " the act of standing," we
are correctly expressing ourselves, it being in a physiological point
of view as much an act as walking, or trotting, or galloping is.
Each limb is kept in a state of extension underneath the body by
muscles, either themselves constituting part of it, or running from
the body to be inserted into it ; and though their actions or con-
tractions come greatly short of what would be required for pro-
ducing motion, still there can be no entire cessation of them without
the animal falling. Some horses take their rest standing — never
lie down. In these the muscles sustaining the limbs must be in
continual action ; and on this account it seems to me that such
horses can never profoundly sleep, for if they did they would fall,
the same as we see horses with lethargic affections occasionally
doing. I have seen lethargic horses repeatedly fall from sleeping
standing, even while they have been in harness. From which it
would appear that a degree of consciousness is required even to
sustain the standing posture ; and, therefore, it is, I repeat, that it
seems to me that horses who never lie down, although they may,
and apparently do, sufficiently take their rest, yet never can sleep
soundly or perfectly.

THE ACT OF STANDING. 121

The act we have been considering I shall denominate the stand-
ing posture, to distinguish it from two other acts of standing, one of
which I shall call the natural standing position, the other the arti-
ficial standing position.

The STANDING POSTURE is that into which the horse throws
himself for ease or repose, and in which one of the limbs continues
in a state of flexion or absolute rest, and this almost invariably a
hind one, while the remaining three are maintained in a state of
extension ; the fore legs being commonly sloped backward, as when
the horse is said to be " standing over," that being the position —
and not the perpendicular one — which to them appears to confer the
greatest ease. In some rare instances horses — such as are " stilty
before" — will stand with their fore legs advanced or stretched for-
ward underneath them. It is by no means uncommon to find
horses (that are not lame) standing, from habit, with one fore leg
advanced in this manner, while the other is receded rather; and
when this is done it is always the hind leg of the opposite side
that is flexed ; the animal from time to time reversing this position
of his limbs, unless it be that his foot is pointed from pain or un-
easiness, and then the same leg is kept in advance. So, under
ordinary circumstances, first one hind limb is thrown into flexion,
then the other, and in this manner are both recruited by rest : the
fore limbs obtaining their repose, standing, by being carried back-
ward out of the perpendicular, and by the dependency of the head
and neck, which brings the scapulae more upright, and throws all
the weight possible upon the posterior parts of the leg where the
elastic supporters are placed. When we were examining the fet-
lock joint, we found that the sesamoid bones supported a proportion
of the superincumbent weight, and that this proportion was greater
or less, depending on the construction of this joint and of the
pasterns : we now find that it will be greater when the animal is
standing over at rest than when his limbs are placed perpendicu-
larly under him; and this is the reason of his placing himself in this
posture. In this position the suspensory ligaments will be called
into greater action, and consequently there will be a less demand
for muscular force. The dependent position of the head shews the
same thing : the muscles of the neck having to sustain the weight
of it at the end of a long lever, become in a great measure re-

122 FORM AND ACTION.

lieved of their burthen by the calling into action, through the elon-
gation of the neck, of the elastic cords running from the withers to
the poll. In the standing posture, therefore, Nature prompts the
animal to ease himself as much as he can by imposing more bur-
then upon the ligamentous powers and less upon the muscular ; and
these last, moreover, experience occasional relief by alternation of
their states from extension to flexion, from contraction to relaxation.
The posture of repose — that which the wearied horse instinc-
tively assumes when left to himself — is to be distinguished from
any attitude into which he may throw himself in a state of watch-
fulness, or excitement, or alarm ; and this again is different from
any artificial or unnatural position in which he may be placed by
riding-masters or horse-dealers, or in which he may have been
taught to place himself. The instant the animal's attention be-
comes attracted, the same instant may he be said to rouse himself
from his dormant or listless repose, and assume more or less
animation, simultaneously changing the standing posture for the
natural standing position : beyond this, through the interference of
art, the position may be changed again to what we call the arti-
ficial standing ; and thus the three acts of standing become exem-
plified in the same individual. The riding-master teaches the
horse to " stand upon all four of his legs," in order- to be ready, at
a moment's notice, to spring from the standing position into any
movement or pace required of him ; the horse-dealer teaches the
animal to stand with his fore and hind limbs stretched out in such
manner as to "make the most of himself" before a purchaser;
and it is pleasing to behold with what sagacity horses who have
been long or frequently in dealers' hands will acquire this arti-
ficial standing ; equally so is it to see how military horses ranged
in their ranks will stand on the qui vive, ready for a brisk and
sudden movement at the sound of the trumpet.

THE ACTS OF REARING AND KICKING.

Though the limbs are the transporting agents of the body, it is
not mere motion of them that will effect progression, much less
motion of any one or two, or even three of them, without the
other, that will produce it : all must move, and in moving change

THE ACTS OF REARING AND KICKING. 123

places, otherwise the animal will remain in the same situation.
The movements in progression are for the most part the result of
the alternate action of the four feet ; when the two fore legs are
elevated into the air, the two hind remaining fixtures upon the
ground, and the horse in this manner erects himself upon the
latter, the act is denominated rearing : when, on the contrary, the
hind legs are thrown into the air, the body being erected upon the
fore feet in the opposite direction, the act is called kicking. But
neither in abstract kicking nor rearing is there any locomotion —
any progression or retrogression. In rearing, the fore feet, through
the agency of the shoulders and fetlocks, spring off the ground, and
are then lifted with the body into the air, the erection being effected
through the contractions of powerful muscles running upon the
back, loins, croup, and haunches, the hip-joints operating as fulcra
or turning points. Some of the muscles or powers employed being
between the fulcra and resistance, while others — those operating
upon the hind quarters — being placed behind the fulcra, the levers,
through whose agency the movement of rearing is effected, become
those of the first and third description.

By persons in general, or, at least, by such as are unacquainted
with the manage, rearing is often regarded as a vice in a horse.
This, however, is a very erroneous view to take of the act. We
rather ought to take the contrary, and regard a horse so made that
rearing becomes, as it were, natural to him, and who consequently
performs and repeats the act with ease and freedom, as, by proper
management, convertible into an excellent hackney or charger, or
hunter even, rearing being a component part of the act of leaping.
I do not mean to assert that rearing, carried to excess or resorted
to by the animal to shew resistance, may not prove a vice, and a
troublesome and dangerous one ; it is but seldom, however, that it
turns out such ; it is mostly controllable, and may, in proper hands,
be turned to excellent account. Indeed, rearing constitutes so
fundamental a part of many of the horse's school-taught move-
ments, that, without it, either natural or acquired, the hopes of the
riding-master in his education are disappointed : he can make no-
thing of his pupil but a common labour horse, suitable to drive, un-
suitable for riding. Horses require strength of loins and haunches
to rear readily and sustain themselves upon their hind quarters.

124 FORM AND ACTION.

Short-legged compact horses generally rear and spring with more
promptitude than others. Of all horses, thorough-breds are com-
monly the most untoward learners of the manage, on account of
their deficiency in rearing powers; though I have known some
notable exceptions to this. Were the riding-school art and practice
carried far enough, there appears no good reason why a horse might
not be taught to walk upon his hind legs and sit upon his haunches
like a dog. Girard mentions, indeed, the instance of a stallion
who, at the sight of the mare he was about to cover, was in the
habit, of his own accord, of walking for some distance in this
manner in his approach to her.

Kicking is the act the reverse of rearing : instead of the fore-
quarters being raised, the hind ones are elevated. The muscles
employed in kicking are much the same as produce rearing, the
difference being, that the fore-quarters are now the fixed and turn-
ing points, the hind the moving parts. The shoulders become the
fulcra, the hind-quarters the resistance, the power lying inter-
mediately. Although kicking, like rearing, must be viewed, ab-
stractedly, as a manifestation of power, yet it is a manifestation of
a most dangerous kind, and one that cannot too early or too effec-
tually be suppressed. From the circumstance of the act being
much facilitated and enforced by the abasement of the head at the
time — that having the effect of extending the muscles and so ena-
bling them to act with more energy and effect — we learn that the
elevation of the head is one of the best counteractions we can adopt
in horses disposed to this dangerous vice : we see this well exem-
plified in dealers' and breakers' establishments ; the moment any
signs of kicking are evinced, the same moment the head is seized,
and thrust up to the highest pitch.

THE ACT OF LEAPING.

THE LEAP is either a sudden spring into the air, in which the
feet quit the ground simultaneously, or else it is an act compounded
of an imperfect rear and kick in quick or slow succession, accord-
ing to the manner in which it is performed. The leap can hardly
be regarded as an act of progression : commonly, it being in a for-
ward direction, undoubtedly progress is made by it; but it is

THE ACT OF LEAPING. 125

possible for it to amount to no more than a jump or a bound off
and upon the same ground, as is the case when a horse is said to
" buck" in his leaping, i. e. to come down upon or near to the spot
from which he arose.

Borelli commences his chapter " de saltu" with the proposition
that no leap is made without the joints of the feet being first
flexed*, and instances man as with straightened limbs being inca-
pable of leaping. Brutes and insects, however, from having their
joints already flexed, can leap at pleasuret. Horses with their
flexed fetlocks and angular haunches and shoulders, are ever ready
to spring off the grounnd, and the more lengthy and angular these
parts are, the greater the animal's power of jumpingj. We see
this well exemplified in the deer kind, and in rabbits and hares,
and especially in kangaroos, but most beautifully of all in many
of the insect tribe §. Horses take leaps with most facility and
effect when cantered or galloped at them at a moderate rate, be-
cause in that pace they are already prepared to jump, the leap
itself being, in fact, but an extraordinary effort of spring and
stride made after the manner of, or thrown into, the gallop. The
effort made by the extensor muscles to effect the bound into the
air is succeeded in the air by a contraction of the flexors : both
the fore and hind limbs are in the air drawn up towards the belly,
in order that the leap be effectually cleared. No sooner, however,
does the descent commence* than the fore limbs become spread
out forwards and the hind ones let down, wide apart, to receive
the body at the landing, and by their yielding position to ward off
or mitigate, as much as possible, the concussion consequent on
coming to the ground.

LECOQ has happily represented the directing power of the head
and neck in the leap : — " The elevation of the neck governs the
direction of the leap. If the animal, in order to clear an obstacle,

* Saltus non fit, nisi prius articuli pedum inflectantur.

f Bruta et insecta aliqua, quae omnium pedum aut saltern postremorum
articulos semper inflexos retinent, possunt ad libitum saltare.

I Quo longiores sunt vectes extremi crurum, saltus majores fiunt.

§ HiDc est, quod locustae, grilli, et pulices longos ■ saltus efficiunt, quia
nempe eorum pedes posteriores valde prolixi sunt, ut sequent aut superent
longitudinem ejusdam animaleuli. Contra in hominibus et quadrupedibus.

12(5 FORM AND ACTION.

wishes to leap high, he erects his head, and by this simple move-
ment, the fore quarters pressing back upon the hind, a vertical
direction is given to the spring. If, on the other hand, he only de-
sires, as in the gallop, to leap in a direction forward, the neck
levels itself on a line with the ground, and the head, stretching
forward to the utmost, carries the centre of gravity along with
it, and thus aids the projection ; the hind quarters propelling the
body, raised from the ground to a height only sufficient to enable
the limbs to clear the leap."

It will be seen from what has been said, that a horse will
take a leap after two different modes : he will, as the phrases go}
take it either "standing" or "flying." "A standing leap" is
taken, without any preparatory run, from the ground the animal is
actually standing upon. Finding it a difficult matter to spring up
from the ground with all four feet at once out of a stale of rest,
he first rears to the height required to clear the leap, and then,
with a sort of kick, flings his hind feet after ; the leap altogether
being, as I observed before, a compound of a short rear and a
short or imperfect kick. " The flying leap," properly so called, is
that taken at a gallop, nothing further being required to produce
it than to elevate the head and throw extra spring into the stride,
the impetus of the pace — which, if but moderate and the horse
fresh, he much augments as he approaches the leap — being suffi-
cient to take the animal over : it is the easiest and commonly the
safest leap both for horse and rider. To shew the powers of leap-
ing horses possess, some have been known to jump over bars or
fences higher than themselves ; and Nimrod — the late Mr. Ap-
perley- — relates an instance in which a hunter cleared seven yards
of space*. Ponies, in general, for their size, are better leapers
than large horses : this appears to arise from greater concentration
of power combined with the less weight they have to move.
Thorough-bred horses are seldom clever leapers ; a circumstance
owing, apparently, to their deficiency in rearing powers.

* I saw an account the other day in the " Sporting Magazine" of a horse
in a steeple-chase making "a jump of twenty-two feet."

PROGRESSION. 1"27

LECTURE XL
PROGRESSION.

Locomotion implies vaguely the act or power of moving from
place to place, and is equally applicable to animals with and
without feet ; PROGRESSION carries in its meaning the notion of
feet, and signifies stepping forward ; RETRO -GRESSION being its
antagonist term — the word we use for stepping backward.

From the bare facts of quadrupeds being known to be the fleet-
est of the creatures that move upon the earth's surface, those that
are capable of the greatest feats of saltation, as well as of the
greatest speed and endurance in the course, we might safely infer
that four legs constituted a number better calculated for progression
than any other. Men can run and jump with, considering they have
but two legs, surprising effect ; but neither in the act of progres-
sion nor in that of saltation can they compete with certain qua-
drupeds ; neither are many-footed creatures — centipedes, as some
of them are denominated — to be compared in these respects with
quadrupeds, or even, indeed, with bipeds : the number four ap-
pearing, in relation to legs, to be that which most happily answers
the purposes of succession in stepping and propulsion, as well as
for that continual shifting of the centre of gravity which necessarily
takes place in the transportation of the body.

THE CENTRE OF GRAVITY, in a quadruped standing with its
legs in their natural position, will be found to fall anterior to a
point equidistant from each of the four feet, owing to the pre-
ponderance forward of the head and neck : the precise point upon
which the line of gravitation will fall, it will be difficult or impos-
sible to determine, that in some inconsiderable degree continually
varying from the circumstance of the perpetual changes in the
erection and declination of the head and neck, not to notice the
unimportant fluctuations that may be caused in it by the move-
ments of respiration and by the constant shifting of place of the
viscera. The line of gravitation will be liable, however, to undergo
variations of some consequence from the imposition of weight upon
the animal's back, and these will be found to be of a nature cor-
respondent with the situation of the weight imposed, its bulk or

128 FORM AND ACTION.

amount, stability, &c. Some professional confreres of ours on
the other side of the water, with that indefatigable spirit of cu-
rious inquiry for which they are on occasions so much to be lauded,
have been at the pains to ascertain the degrees of these changes,
and the manner in which they are affected, both in respect to
the animal itself and to its rider.

Messieurs Morris and Baucher*, desirous of ascertaining cor-
rectly the influence of the head and neck on the distribution of the
weight of the horse upon his four legs, especially upon the fore
and hind legs, as pairs, had horses weighed in scales, constructed
some years ago at the Custom-house for that especial purpose.

The first placed upon the balance was a hackney-mare, with
saddle and bridle on, well enough shaped, except that she was
rather heavy before. She was found to weigh in her fore-hand
210 kilogrammes^ , in her hind 174, total 384, difference in fa-
vour of the fore-hand 36 ; there being, during the weighing, a
fluctuation between three and five kilogrammes arising from the
respiratory and visceral movements. The head was now forced
down, until the muzzle came to a level with the chest : this made
a difference of eight kilogrammes additional on the fore-hand.
Elevation of the head, until the muzzle rose as high as the withers,
caused a transfer of ten kilogrammes from the fore to hind quarters.
The head being released, was next reined in and upward rather :
this occasioned a rejection of eight kil. on the hind quarters.
From these results we may deduce the conclusion, that the more
the head is elevated, either naturally or by the hand, the more
its weight and that of the neck is equally distributed upon the
limbs, without any thing forced in the position.

After these experiments, M. Baucher mounted the mare : the
weights then stood — fore-hand 251 kil, hind 197, total 448,
difference 54. The horseman being placed in an academical po-
sition, had his weight, which was 64 kil, distributed thus : 41 kil.
upon the fore-hand, and 23 upon the hind. Throwing the body
backward occasioned a transfer of 10 kil. from fore to hindward ;
then gathering up his reins, he caused a further addition of 8 kil.,

* Extracted from the Journal de Haras, Juin 1835, into Lecoq's l'Exte-
rieur du Cheval.

f A kilogramme is about 2| lbs. troy.

PROGRESSION. 129

making a total of 18. When he stood up in his stirrups, the
fore-hand received an addition of 12 kil.

These gentlemen with justice observe, in concluding this ac-
count of their interesting experiments, that " although the differ-
ences caused by the position of the head and neck of the animal,
and of his rider, may not, under ordinary circumstances, be of any
great deal of consequence, yet do they acquire vast importance
in the course of work, such as racing or hunting, the preponderance
increasing enormously along with the fatigue."

From these experiments we learn, that although the fore-hand
at all times has more weight to sustain than the hind, yet, in con-
sequence of the hind supporting more than its half of the trunk,
does this additional burthen not amount to what the head and neck
abstractedly would weigh; and we learn farther the important
fact, that a weight upon the fore-legs, which, in the ordinary or
natural position of the head and neck, amounts to 210 kilogrammes,
becomes, by reining-up, reduced to 200, and that, with the rider
on the back, a weight forward of 254 kilogrammes can be
diminished, by bringing the head with the bridle-hand into the
proper {managed) position, to 233, making a difference of 21
kilogrammes, or nearly 58 lbs. troy. These are results which
we, as veterinarians, shall be able to turn to useful account : to the
equestrian and riding-master they are full of the greatest interest.

The limbs in the natural standing posture, placed as they are
in parallels with the line through the centre of gravity, and being
in themselves respectively so many co-operating centres of gra-
vity, and bearing each of them its due proportion of the weight
of the body, can none of them be moved in any material de-
gree out of the lines of gravity — which we may suppose to run
through their respective centres -without imposing additional
weight upon their fellows, on account of placing themselves in a
position disadvantageous for supporting the superincumbent load,
and consequently creating some feeling of uneasiness, in time
increasing to pain. The first act in progression is the result of
the stimulus of the will : the brain gives the order through the
nerves for the body to be moved forward ; one leg moves, the
other, through impulse, follows : the uneasiness created in the
frame by the elevation and projecture of one limb generating that

s

130 FORM AND ACTION.

impulse. No sooner is the centre of gravity of the body disturbed
by the displacement of one of its supporters, than an effort is made
to rectify the derangement; the rectification, however, is hardly
accomplished before another act of disturbance is commenced : thus,
by repeated acts of projecture in the fore limbs, and as repeated
acts of propulsion in the hind, is the animal machine moved for-
wards at rates correspondent with the impetus generated by these
movements.

When once set in motion, like the wheels of a carriage, the
limbs instinctively continue in similar action or pace until some
fresh mandate is received by them from the sensorium, that be-
coming the signal for some change in the action or pace. The rate
the animal is moving at is either augmented or diminished, or his
movements are altogether arrested, at his own will and pleasure.
And though his master, as his rider or driver, may assume the
control over them during the animal's working hours, yet could
neither rider nor driver effect any thing without the assent of the
animal himself; and it is ever a great deal best to obtain this
assent through kind and conciliatory treatment than to extort it
through ill usage.

Plain and evident as the movements of the quadruped may
appear to the common observer, passing as they do every day
under his immediate observation, yet have they furnished a theme
for difference of opinion, not less in former days than in our own.
Borelli, who commences his chapter De Incessu Quadrupedum
with the remarkable words, " Egregie in hac parte allucinantur,
nedum vulgares homines, sed etiam prseclari philosophi et anato-
mici; qui potius falsa? opinioni per manus traditse, quam pro-
priis oculis fldem praestare volunt," is the first to fall into error.
The movements of the biped are simple and self-evident ; they
consist of the alternate advance of the legs, and of the reciprocal
shifting of the centre of gravity from one to the other : here there
can be no dispute about priority or order of movement. When
we have four in place of two legs, however, the case becomes ma-
terially altered. It is an easy matter to watch two legs ; but it is
difficult, nay, in quick movements impossible, to keep the eyes
so fixed upon the motions of four as to say in what order of suc-
cession they are actually moving or treading the ground. In order,

PROGRESSION. 131

however, that we may come at that through inference which we
cannot derive from actual observation, we will commence with an
examination of the slowest movement of all — the walk — and from
that proceed to those next quick in succession, the slow or dwell-
ing trot, the hand-canter or slow gallop ; and, as we proceed, consi-
der the changes, if any, that take place under augmentation of
speed in these respective paces.

Notwithstanding Borelli's prefatory denunciation of the philoso-
phers and anatomists of his own day, for pinning their faith on
others' sleeves rather than look with their own eyes, he himself, as I
said before, appears in error even in his very first observation. After
shewing the parallelogramical figure of which the horse's legs, as
they stand in their natural position, form the four respective angles,
and that the centre of gravity falls near the centre of the parallelo-
gram— though, according to his plate, placed behind that centre
instead of before — he tells us the animal makes his first movement
with a hind foot, " Incipit gressus ab uno pede postico ;" and as-
signs as the reason for this, the necessity of establishing a new centre
of gravity in advance prior to the movement of progression taking
place.

Solleysell knew better than this; he had looked for himself, and
not pinned his faith on tradition : — " In a walk," says this true
observer of Nature, " the horse lifts the near fore leg and far hind
leg together? and has them in the air at the same time ; and when
he sets these down he lifts the other two, which were cross upon
the ground ; viz. his far fore leg and near hind leg, and so alter-
nately each remove. This is the true motion of a horse's legs
upon a walk; which is the same with that of the trot, although the
paces are different." Sir Wm. Hope, the translator of Solleysell's
invaluable work, " The Compleat Horseman," appends to this pas-
sage a comment, in which he says, " Our author is here in a little
mistake about the motion of a horse's legs in the walk," and by
way of proving the error, refers to his " Supplement of Horseman-
ship" appended to the translation ; where he again agitates the
question, finding the same fault with the Duke of Newcastle as he
had before done with Solleysell, and in great confidence lays down
the law, that " the true motion of a horse's legs upon his walk,
according to my own observation, which upon tryal will be found

132 FORM AND ACTION.

to be as true as it is new, is one, two, three, four, as followeth.
The horse, when he beginneth his walk, must either lead with the
legs on the right side, or with those of the left : if he lead with
those of the right, then the first foot he lifteth is his far hind foot,
which maketh one, &c." Now, as far as my observation has gone,
every horse — I believe I might say every quadruped — usually
makes his first step with a, fore, not with a hind foot. I have cer-
tainly remarked horses and cattle at pasture, who, with their legs
in the parallelogramical or natural position, have, on occasions,
moved a hind instead of a fore leg first, in the act of advancing
foot by foot, as quadrupeds do while grazing ; but I have rarely or
never been able to detect the same thing when horses are about
setting off in earnest to walk or to trot : it is not at all unlikely
but that Borelli might have made his observation on cattle pastur-
ing, though at such a time their movements can hardly be regarded
as those of ordinary progression. At the mandate of the will to
move forward the fore leg is first put in motion, the order of suc-
cession of movement in the walk appearing to be this : — supposing
the off or right fore leg to move first, that is no sooner carried off
the ground than the left or near hind foot is raised, the former being
placed upon the ground again prior to the latter. The two remain-
ing feet move, in respect to each other, in the same order of time,
the left or near fore after the off hind, the right or off hind after the
near fore ; it being observable that, as each hind foot follows in the
line of movement of its corresponding fore foot, the latter would
very often get struck by the former did it not quit its place imme-
diately prior to the other being placed upon, partly or entirely, the
same ground. Now, as the off fore foot gets grounded before the
near hind, and as the near fore foot is raised off the ground at the
moment the near hind is placed upon it, it follows that the fore
feet are performing in manner very or quite similar to the action
of a biped, one being off the ground while the other is on, one
being in advance while the other is left behind ; the hind feet also
are performing the same alternate movements, the only difference
being that the motions are reversed : in fact, if we imagine two
soldiers marching in file, or one behind the other, out of step, we
shall have a very good idea of the movements of the quadruped
animal : the soldier in front representing the fore legs, it is evident

PROGRESSION. 133

that unless he gets his feet out of the line of march in proper time,
they must be trodden upon by the soldier behind, representing the
hind limbs ; so that, in point of reality, the quadruped, in his ordi-
nary movements, may be said to represent a double biped marching
out of step.

With a view of rendering the order of movement of the four
limbs of the quadruped more intelligible, it has been common with
writers on the subject to note each foot by a letter or number : thus,
the fore legs are represented by the letters A, B, the hind by C, D :
supposing the A and C to denote the left or near legs, and B, D,
the right or off, fore and hind respectively, and that A moves first,
D will follow, and B will quit its place just in time for D to oc-
cupy it, while A will move off for a second time, just in time for
C, the last leg to move, to take the ground A stood upon ; up to
which period A has moved twice to C's once. Supposing a hind
leg, C, moved first, the fore leg, B, having to move next, A would
not quit its ground in time for C to occupy it. When it happens
that a hind leg does make the first step — as in horses or cattle
grazing or moving leisurely or heedlessly — the step proves to be
one short of the spot upon which the corresponding fore foot is
resting, and so the latter is saved from being trodden upon. In
this manner it happens that the fore and hind feet of the corre-
sponding sides become, instead of being in respect of one another
diagonally placed, approached close together on one side, standing
under the centre of gravity, while on the other side the fore is ad-
vanced, the hind being extended backwards. This is not a natural
position, but it is one that observably occurs in movements such as
I have been describing, and likewise in those that, through any
disturbance or derangement in action, are rendered irregular or
discordant — as, when in the gallop, the fore and hind legs of
opposite sides are in advance. So far as respects the common
paces of walking and trotting, this appears to be the analysis of
progression, the priority and order of motion of the animal's four
legs : acceleration of movement, so long as the same paces be
preserved, will not alter this order of succession, though it may
quicken it to that degree that time is not given for one foot to
reach the ground before the other is lifted off, and the conse-

134 FORM AND ACTION,

quence is, that two, three, and even all four feet may possibly be
in the air at one and the same time. In the ordinary walk of the
horse, two feet are in the air at once, though they are not grounded
simultaneously ; there being, as Sir W. Hope has well described
it, a pretty regular beat in the time of lifting and grounding the
feet, in a true or good walk of one, two, three, four. Both fore
feet and both hind feet moving, in respect to each other, alternately,
it follows that no sooner is one fore foot lifted up than a hind foot
is put in its place, and that these successions are in regular alter-
nation, if we except the very first step the animal takes with his
fore foot ; that not being followed up by the hind one of the same
side until the remaining two feet have removed.

Richard Lawrence, often an elegant, but not always a practical
writer, though he inclines to Borelli's notion of the hind leg being
the first set in motion, nevertheless commences his description of
the horse's " walk" by the advancement of one fore leg, and that
being placed on the ground — " this action being completed, the
off hind leg is elevated and advanced," &c. It must be a very
slow walk indeed — such a walk as a horse takes while he is graz-
ing or seeking after food, or as when he most painfully or reluct-
antly follows the man leading him — that allows the setting down
or completion of action of the fore leg before the hind one is lifted.
It is quite erroneous to imagine that, " during the walk, the ani-
mal is always supported by a triangular position of three legs;
namely, two fore legs and one hind, or one fore and two hind legs,
alternately." Progression would be tardy indeed conducted upon
such a principle as this, neither would there be that spring or lift
in the walk which is requisite to constitute a good or a fast one.
But two feet rest upon the ground in the ordinary walk ; and
however instable this may render the centre of gravity, the in-
tervals are so short between the alternate transfers of gravity from
the two feet quitting the ground to the two coming upon it, that all
instability is lost in the impetus of progression. Were the fore
foot set down before the hind was raised, the step could not be pro-
longed beyond the abstract extension of the fore limb ; whereas,
by the hind one of the opposite side being in the air as well, while
the hind of the same side is grounded in advance, by the lever of

PROGRESSION. 135

the latter a propulsion is given to the body which throws the fore
foot in air to a point farther forward than of itself it could have
attained.

Restricting our observation to a single limb, three motions are
evident in progression : by the first motion the limb is flexed, and
the foot lifted off the ground ; by the second, a sort of sweep or
segment of a circle is described by the foot in the air ; by the
third, the foot is replaced upon the ground. The French, who
have paid more attention to this subject than ourselves, have —
after the " inventor" of them, Solleysell — designated these three
motions by the apposite terms, le lever, le soulien, et Vappui,
which we may render in English by, the lift, the stay, and the
rest. The slower the pace the more distinctly these motions are
seen. In no pace are they better demonstrable than in what is
called "a good walk ;" the animal then, with a flexion of the leg,
sharply catches his foot off the ground, subsequently making a
sweep with it upward and forward, and lastly plants it firmly
and flatly down again. Insufficient lifting gives no room for
the sweep, and insufficient sweep occasions the toe to strike against
the ground before the foot has revolved into a position proper to
be placed down; and the consequence is, from the weight alighting
upon the toe instead of upon the foot flatly planted, knuckling over,
and stumbling, and now and then falling. The quicker the pace,
of course, the quicker these motions are performed. In the
walk they are distinguishable enough, each limb taking its re-
gular turn in them. In the trot this is likewise the case, until
the speed comes to be augmented to (hat degree that three and
even four feet are off the ground at once, and then, though the
motions still have to be performed by each limb in succession,
subject to interruption from incidental circumstances, they are apt
at times to be irregular.

The lift, or raising of the foot from the ground into the air,
may be faulty from naturally defective action ; from a habit of
careless going ; from lameness ; and from any one of these causes
a horse may stumble, and prove unsafe to ride. Without, as
many writers on this subject have done, endeavouring to shew in
what manner or by what rule a horse, in a walk or a trot, should
take up his foot and put it down again, or what particular sort of

136 FORM AND ACTION.

action his walk or trot should consist of, I shall deem here it
sufficient for all practical purposes that he is safe upon his feet in
his paces, and manifests sufficient speed in them to escape the
denunciation of being " slow." A horse may lift up and set down
his feet with mathematical precision and admirable beauty, as, in
some persons' estimation, most of the foreign horses do, and yet
prove insecure upon his legs, or he may go close enough almost
to kick up seven-shilling pieces, and yet prove a safe hackney, of
which T very well remember an instance in a mare, a cover hack,
belonging to Capt. P., who, notwithstanding she appeared to raise
her feet hardly oyster-shell height from the surface, dashed along
at a good ten-mile-an-hour trot, without — as the Captain has often
assured me — ever making a mistake. I do not make mention
of these acknowledged exceptions to general laws that have been
laid down by writers on action, with a view of casting any dispa-
ragement on them, but to shew that horses will go well and
safely in many ways different from those prescribed for them,
and in so many different modes, that, to set about to frame rules
for action, to say a walk should be performed in this manner, and
a trot in that manner, is more, I think, than any man who had
in his time ridden many horses would pretend to do. Even Sol-
leysell, who may be regarded as the original framer of these rules,
after telling us how a horse should raise his foot, " so as not to
cross one leg over the other," and how he should sustain his limb,
so as properly to poise his body, and how he should put it flat
down, " the whole foot equally at one and the same instant of
time," admits, still, that " there are some horses which, although
they have the raising, keeping up, and tread of the foot very good,
yet have they a bad walk."

137

LECTURE XII.

THE PACES.

Lexicographers derive our English word pace from the French
pas, which we translate step : the French making use of the
word allure for pace, a derivative from aller, and literally signi-
fying going or gait. Pace with us has a double signification : it
may mean either a horse's mode of going, or the rate at which he
moves. When we say a horse's paces are good, we leave it
doubtful whether we mean that his action is good, or his speed is
good, or that both are so ; but when we say a horse has but two
paces, it is very well understood that he is wanting either in his
walk or trot or gallop ; and this last is the sense in which we use
the word pace here.

In a state of nature the horse is said to have but three paces or
different actions or modes of going — walk, trot, and gallop, all
others being viewed as artificial, in contradistinction to these three,
which are called his natural paces : the canter, the amble, and any
other pace a horse may be taught to go, consequently, come into
the latter class. This division, however, is not quite in accord-
ance with truth. Though we may admit the amble to be alto-
gether an artificial pace, assuredly we have all occasionally seen
foals cantering after their dams. Therefore, the canter must be in
part natural, at least, strictly speaking, can be regarded only so far
as artificial that it is not, like the others, always to be observed in
the natural state, or that horses are to be found that never naturally
canter, or who are exceedingly difficult to be made to canter, and
with every pains that can be taken with them, can never be made
to do so with any degree of grace or perfection. Notwithstanding
these objections, however, we deem it more consonant with ob-
servation and practice to regard the canter as an artificial pace.

Let us first consider

138 FORM AND ACTION.

THE WALK.

The walk is the pace the quadruped, by nature or habit, breaks
into out of a state of inaction or quiescence. It is the slowest of
the paces — that by which all the others are more or less influenced,
and so might with reason be emphatically denominated the primi-
tive or cardinal pace. The best earnest a horse can give us of
" what he can do" in other respects, is his walk ; a clever walker
will perform well in his trot, and most likely in his gallop likewise :
indeed, I have heard eminent turf-men say, it is rarely that a good
racer is a bad walker. A horse so made that walking is either
difficult or impossible of performance to him, without perpetual
blundering and danger of falling, may gallop or canter to satis-
faction, but cannot be expected to be a good trotter, the walk and
the trot being paces requiring similar conformation and powers of
progression. There are some people who will not look at a horse
(for purchase) that cannot walk. For a hackney, park or pleasure
horse, charger, and, above all, for a lady's horse, good walking is
indispensable ; for a hunter it is next to indispensable ; and in a
racer highly desirable. By good walking I mean the powers or
capabilities of walking well : a horse not in possession of that
form and action that enables him to step properly or safely in his
walk I call a bad walker ; and not one who has been caused to
walk improperly or amiss, either through any mismanagement in
the training or using of him, or any anormal condition into which
he may have been thrown by accident or disease : the epithets
good and bad have, in fact, reference here to natural or original
disqualification, and not to any thing incidental or superadded.

The physical properties foreshewing a horse to be a good walker
must be collected principally from what has been already said about
form, in particular of the fore legs and shoulders ; at the same time
the hind limbs must not be overlooked, they, with the fore, con-
curring to make the good walker. We may often, when we
behold certain anormal or ill construction of the limbs, without
hesitation pronounce it impossible that such a horse can walk
well ; though we are liable to be deceived in our opinion about the

THE WALK. 139

pace being properly executed when we see form that we cannot
help admiring. It would be, indeed, a perfection in this branch of
our art, could we deduce action from form : although we may ven-
ture to decry what cannot fail to perform ill, we cannot always
predict what will act well ; and one reason why we cannot is found
in the circumstance of the physical powers requiring a savoir-faire,
which, being derived from vitality, is without the pale of our calcu-
lation. Notwithstanding, we shall always do well to " observe,"
with Solleysell, before a horse is put in motion, " if he be right
planted upon his limbs ; because upon the right or wrong posturing*
of a horse, when he is standing still, doth depend, not wholly, but
in part, his good or bad going and carriage." In other words, a
horse naturally — and not by trick or art shewn — standing well, is
not likely to perform ill.

We now come to the question, what constitutes good walking J
" For a horse to walk well," says our excellent authority, old
and venerable Solleysell, " his steps should be quick" — he should
" make two steps with his feet in the space that many horses make
one." — "The four adverbs, LIGHTLY, SURELY, QUICKLY, EASILY,
express all the most nice and curious can desire in a horse's
walk." In this quaint description how much truth and nature
sparkle forth ! What reader that does not in it discover the light-
some, nimble, nodding hackney, catching up his foot, quickly and
gracefully twirling it in the air, and afterwards putting it fairly,
flatly, and firmly down upon the ground ; " beating," as Adamst
says, with his feet as he goes along, " one, two, three, four,"
and with that regularity and decidedness that to the ear of the
experienced horseman they tell " a music" he alone knows the
sound of. Every man conversant with horses recognizes this walk
of the hackney the moment he beholds it — there is no mistaking
it ; and the same as soon discovers the indifferent or bad icalker.

* In the translation of Solleysell's work by Sir W. Hope, this (which in the
original French is camper) is rendered camping : an un-English expression,
and one that means — if it means any thing — the stretching out of a horse as
in the act of staling. The signification of the author here, is the posture or
position which a horse, left to himself, will assume ; and not any he may be
thrown into through the art of the dealer or the cunning of the groom,

t Analysis of Horsemanship.

140 FORM AND ACTION.

It is easier to point out defects in a horse's walking than to define
in what good or proper walking should consist — like many other
things, we know it when we see it, but we hardly know how to
describe it. Good walking will be found one thing in the cart-
horse, another thing in the hackney or hunter, and a third thing
in the race-horse ; and no one or single description will apply to
the walks of all three breeds or kinds of horses. Again, foreign
horses — Arabians, Spaniards, Dongolas, &c. walk in quite a dif-
ferent style from British horses. There is a variation in the walk
even beyond this. Two hackneys or riding horses will not walk
alike, though both may be acknowledged to walk well : one will
have the true hackney action, the sharp or quick lift, the grace-
ful turn in the stay, and the flat and firm grounding of the foot,
which we all so much admire, and which by writers in general on
this subject is described as the proper manner in which a horse
should walk, as though there were no other ; while the other
hackney — displaying perhaps more breeding — will, race-horse
like, lift more leisurely, and, instead of twirling his foot, will cast it
pointedly forward in a horizontal line, and place it daintily upon
the ground, as if he took every pains to do so with precision ; and
withal will step, perhaps, with perfect safety, and advance as fast
as the quick-actioned hackney. Supposing, therefore, we assume
good walking to consist in speed and safety, adding thereto even
elegance or gracefulness, there are manifestly two, if not more,
ways of accomplishing it ; and these two, being so different, are
sufficient to set at defiance any single rule we may lay down for
its performance, or any single definition we may give of it. So
that a horse's walk be neither slow nor unsafe, nor (to the rider)
uneasy, we shall not widely err in regarding it as good, let it be
performed in whatsoever manner it may. However fast it may be,
if insecure, it is seriously faulty ; and though fast and safe, still,
if rough or unpleasant to the rider, it is objectionable. In fine, the
walk of a horse should be estimated rather by its effects and pro-
ducts than by the manner or method in which the animal per-
forms it.

Faulty or defective walking may proceed from various
causes. It may be natural or acquired. A horse may be so
formed that all the pains in the world cannot make him walk pro-

THE WALK. 141

perly or well ; and the best walker may be rendered otherwise by
mismanagement, or from unsoundness, or age. That man will act
wisely who refuses to purchase or to have any thing to do with
the natural bad walker : if he cannot walk well, he cannot trot
well, and will most likely prove insecure in one or both paces ; and
though by a judicious system of manege he may and will probably
turn out susceptible of improvement, still he will, as I said before,
by no pains be convertible into a good or safe walker and trotter ;
and, therefore, the best counsel I can give a man who wants a
horse for riding purposes is, I repeat, to refuse the purchase of the
natural bad walker. But good walking may be destroyed or con-
verted into bad walking by injudicious training or riding. It is
surprising what a difference — a difference known only to horse-
men— proper and improper riding makes, even in horses that are
by nature excellent walkers. I have often heard my father — who
was a good horseman — say, he could tell when another man had
been riding his horse from the difference he felt (the next time he
rode, himself) in his horse's walking : the hand and the leg have
so much to do in inciting the walk, Avhile they restrain the shuffle,
and prevent any attempt at a trot. Such a horse, bad or no walker
from habit, will shew no natural deformity : his make will be that
calculated to produce good walking, and he will perform faultlessly
in his trot, and most likely in his gallop as well ; all which will
go to shew that his walking pace is bad through mismanagement,
and not from natural incapacity. His walking, however, may not
be destroyed ; it may, by the method of riding, be but altered.
From being a free and far stepper he becomes a short stepper,
dwelling upon his steps in consequence of being reined in, prolong-
ing his stays, and thus, altogether, altered in his walking action
from what he originally was, affording an example of what may
be accomplished through difference of riding. Foreign-bred horses
step short by nature ; nor is it possible, I believe, through any sys-
tem of manege, to make them step a VAngloise : they manifest a
good deal of action in lift — throw their legs about much — have a
longer stay than our horses, and put down their feet too little in
advance of the spots from which they were lifted to make much
progress. Again ; stepping short, either by nature or from habit,
must be distinguished from the short, tender, or cramped step of

142 FORM AND ACTION.

the horse that has been for any length of time in a state of disuse,
or standing in the stable without exercise, as well as from that of
the foundered or groggy horse. In cases where any doubt exists
in the mind of the examiner, whether the short-stepping walk
proceed from one cause or the other, a trot will commonly dispel it,
and exhibit the case in its veritable light.

The LIFT of the foot in walking may be insufficient, or it may
be greater than is required for the purpose of progression. Tn the
former case, the horse will be likely to hit his toe against any
stone or prominence in his way, occasioning him to stumble ; and
through the effort he makes with the opposite fore leg to save him-
self, will run great risk of again faltering and falling; the foot
coming to the rescue of the other, not perhaps prepared to come
flatly down, descending upon its toe, upon which the imposition of
weight is sure to cause knuckling over, and so down inevitably the
horse must come. But there may be too much lift — over much
action in the air : the animal may in his walk even, and. more still
in his trot, throw his legs about, cross them probably, in that manner
that he makes but short advances in progression, being after all
but a slow walker, and moreover is extremely likely to strike one
leg with the opposite foot, either at the fetlock or beneath the knee,
the latter being what is called speedy-cut. Independently how-
ever of the liability to strike, it by no means follows, because
a horse has high or free action in his walk, ergo, that he is a safe
walker. Some of the foreign horses are any thing but secure
steppers; they drop and suddenly fall down upon their knees, and,
I believe, from weakness in those joints. Neither does it follow
that horses that go near the ground, daisy-cutters as they are
often called, are of necessity unsafe walkers — many instances occur
proving the contrary*. The lift of the foot, in good walking, should
be sufficient to clear all ordinary obstacles in the road, and the
action should be collected, within the sphere of the animal's perfect
control, and not sprawling ; and the foot should be flexed in the
air without any great deviation laterally out of the line of direction,
forward and backward, turning the toes either much out or much
in — though the latter is less objectionable than the former — being

* One will be found mentioned in a preceding lecture.

THE WALK. 143

both faulty in action. And a horse that flexes his foot well in the
lift, exhibits his shoe during the eversion of the foot, and that has
a nimble though short step, though he may not make more ground
or even so much as a horse with straight action, will be a much
pleasanter hackney : in fact, this is the action that has already been
described as, par excellence, the hackney action.

The GROUNDING of the foot should be flat and firm. To the
eye of the observer there is the slightest perceptible difference
between the toe and heels coming to the ground, in favour of the
former ; a difference that need not disturb the horseman's good old
rule, that a horse in his walk should place his foot fairly and
flatly down. Alighting upon the toe, as some horses with high
and round action are apt to do, renders the step instable until the
heel comes to the ground ; or, should the superincumbent weight
preponderate forwards, then knuckling over is the result, and an
awful drop, or else a fall, the consequence. Horses that go upon
their toes have, for the most part, strong upright feet, with con-
cave soles ; whereas, such as have flat feet are more likely to go
upon their heels, to save their weak crusts. We have an illustra-
tion of this in the going of lame horses : such as are lame from
contraction or navicular disease, feeling the pain or tenderness in
their heels, tread upon their toes; and such as feel the pain in
their toes or crusts, horses that have or have had fever in their
feet, do all they can to step upon their heels. It is curious to
observe — and one way in which we may do so is by the wear of
their shoes — how different the tread of horses is : at the same time,
we must bear in mind that the wear of the shoe not only tells how
the horse treads, but also, in some measure, the manner in which
he takes his foot off the ground.

The RATE OF walking in a horse is faster than in a man.
Fair toe-and-heel walking at the rate of four miles an hour, in a
man, is accounted a good pace : a horse we reckon ought — to do
well — to walk five miles an hour ; the ratio between the two ap-
pearing to be about as 5 to 4. But. how would these relative
differences stand, came they to be multiplied? Would a horse walk
a hundred and twenty-five miles while a man was walking a
hundred 1

144 FORM AND ACTION.

THE TROT.

Trot — a modification of our word tread — denotes in equitation
the pace ranking in order, in point of speed, between a walk
and a gallop ; neither slow like the one, nor swift like the other.
Although the limbs in the trot, in reference to the fore and hind
of the same side, have the same contrary or diagonal motion that
they have in the walk, i. e. the off fore and near hind, and near
fore and off hind, are both in action, as well as at rest, at the same
intervals of time, yet is the trot not an accelerated walk, but a
distinct pace by itself, as may be proved both by the animal's
manner of going, as well as by an analysis of the two paces.
We have already seen that, in the walk, although two limbs are
in motion at one time, yet do the four succeed one another, in being
lifted and grounded, in some such regular manner as may be re-
presented to the mind by counting aloud, one, two, three, four.
Not so, however, with the trot. No sooner are the limbs put into
quick motion than the time is found too short for them to play to
this fourfold step, and the consequence is, instead of reckoning
four, we can hear but two beats ; those of the contrary fore and
hind feet being synchronous. This will account for the spring or
elasticity of movement of the trotting horse; as well as for the
rough action of the runner — as the horse is called who trots after
the manner of walking, instead of possessing the synchronous di-
agonal movement, and who, as is well known, is commonly a bone-
setter. In this latter kind of trot, springless and uneasy though it
be to the rider, regularity or harmony in the motions of the limbs
is still preserved ; whereas in the jumble — trot can it be called 1 —
of trotting before and galloping behind, and in what John Law-
rence significantly terms hitching, there is evident discrepancy
in the movements, produced by overstrained efforts to accomplish
that which the powers or capabilities of the animal are inadequate
to. And this is the jumble of a pace — this the confusion of trot
and gallop — butchers' boys and cads, et hoc omne genus (who in
riding or driving are saving time by minutes, whilst in lounging
or doing worse they are squandering it by hours), urge their horses

THE TROT. 145

into. Lecoq speaks of the trot of such horses as being decov.su,
i.e. unconnected, inharmonious; and ascribes it to weakness.

Not only is the motion of the limbs quicker in the trot than in
the walk, but their sphere of action is augmented — they perform
larger gyrations in the air, notwithstanding they have less time
to make them in, and, on this account, a very small amount of time
indeed is allowed them for grounding and again lifting themselves.
In rapid trotting, the tread of the hind foot — the propeller of the
machine — upon the ground is barely sufficient to afford the requi-
site fulcrum, the fore-foot at the instant simply sustaining the
body in front while this propulsion is being accomplished. And
during this acceleration of the pace, every time fresh impetus is
given to the moving machine, whereby it is lifted with a spring
into the air, all four legs are off the ground. Common close ob-
servation shews that this is the case, the best situation for the
observer being, as Lecoq says, a pit or hollow deep enough to
place his eyesight on a level with the ground upon which the
horse is trotting. Vincent and GoifFon, Lecoq informs us, have
made a calculation, that the time occupied in moving the foot in
the air is thrice that consumed in the grounding of it : supposing
the treading of either foot to occupy a second of time, its revolu-
tion in the air takes three seconds. Lecoq, however, himself,
thinks that this latter interval is over-rated. It is evident that the
tread of the foot — the hind one in particular — must be both forcible
and instantaneous ; forcible, to give the requisite propulsion ; in-
stantaneous, because the swift motion will not admit of more :
what the precise periods, however, may be, either for grounding or
suspension, or their proportionate intervals, must, we suspect, be
matter more of speculation than of fact.

By an increasing rapidity of movement the momentum, once
generated, is readily sustained through alternate beats or treads of
the hind feet, the fore limbs appearing to effect little else than, in
diagonal directions with the hind feet, propping or lifting the.fore
quarters. The trot carried to this springing celerity of movement —
this flying or swinging trot, as it is called — 'becomes rather an arti-
ficial than a natural pace. By all horses it is not acquirable : some
seem formed by nature to take it ; others, by dint of practice and

U

146 FORM AND ACTION.

perseverance on the part of their riders, get a knack of it ; others
there are that cannot by any means, harsh or mild, be made to per-
form it ; but in the effort are driven either into the butcher's hitch
or into the jumble of trotting before and galloping behind. Lecoq
calls such horses foibles, weak; and it is not unlikely some of
them are so, either from natural formation or in consequence of
some inflexibility of the loins or hocks, &c. We are far from being
able, however, at all times to say to what the incapacity is owing.

Having considered the order of movement of the limbs in the
trot, and made some allusion to the intervals of time consumed in
grounding the feet and in making the necessary revolutions with
them in the air, we come now to look at the relative positions they
occupy in action, and see how it happens that they do not inter-
fere one with another. In the slow or ordinary trot, the hind
limbs are so carried underneath the body that their foot-marks fall
near about those made by the corresponding fore feet : the fore foot
has no sooner left its place of implantation than the hind foot occu-
pies it. In the walk, the hind feet ordinarily in part cover the
prints of the fore : as soon as the animal strikes into a trot, they
quite cover these prints ; and as the speed increases their relative
advance gradually becomes greater, until the hind overstep the
fore feet, and would and must tread upon them, were it not that
the former were advancing in different lines of direction from those
in which the latter are stepping. Mostly, these lines are within
the other; the hind feet of a well-going horse treading (by turns)
quite under the middle line of the body — that line along which the
centre of gravity moves — and in this manner avoids collision with
the fore feet : in some instances, however — in horses that " go wide
behind" — the hind feet are planted to the outer sides of the fore
ones, and thus equally advance clear of them. There are instances
or occasions where they take the same line of progression with the
fore feet, and then collision *is the inevitable consequence — over-
reach as we term it. This, however, is a rare occurrence, save
when the horse is thrown out of his natural action or forced beyond
his ordinary effort by the injudicious or inhuman conduct of his
rider or driver.

I have shewn, in another place, that strength and flexibility of

THE TROT. 147

loin have much to do with speedy progression. According to the
observations of Vincent and Goiffon*, the spine of the back grows
incurvated during rapid trotting, the effect of which is to open the
shoulders, causing them to spread farther apart in action, and thus
to give more room for the play of the hind feet through the in-
terval between the fore feet. Tn ordinary trotting, these gentlemen
say this does not happen ; and hence they account for the re-action
felt by the rider, through the back, in one case and not in the other.
The TROT is accounted, par excellence, the pace in which the
British horse excels. Foreign horses, in general, are better
adapted for the canter or the manege than for trotting, their trot
being high and round, and therefore, in rapid going, necessarily
very quick, and yet, with all their action and agility, they do not
make progress — do not get over the ground — with any thing like
the speed of an English trotter. The action of our trotting horse
is that which tells in progression rather than makes any parade in
gait ; and yet this is not of any one peculiar kind, good trotters
going, as our dealers say, " in more forms than one."

As was observed on a former occasion, a great deal may be
learnt of what we are to expect in the trot by noting well the walk
of the horse : if the slow pace be cleverly performed, we have good
earnest for the creditable execution of the quick pace. We may
even carry our observation farther than this : we may often tell
the manner in which the horse will trot from paying attention to
his mode of walking. Horses trot with high or low action, round
or straight, darting or dishing, ordinary or grand, &c, depend-
ing upon the manner and energy with which they move their limbs.
People in general, in estimating trotting action, are too apt to con-
fine their observation to the fore limbs, forgetting thq.t the hind are
the propellers of the moving machine, and that upon them, after all,
must mainly depend progression. While height and rotundity
of action give beauty, straightness or projecture give progression ;
and a certain combination of both it is that constitutes what
we are in the habit of so admiring as to call, by way of distinction,
a grand trotter. Perhaps, in our country, hardly any better
examples can be adduced of this perfection in trotting than the

* As stated by Lecoq., op. tit., p. 38o.

148 FORM AND ACTION.

royal stud furnishes : the Queen's (not the state) carriage-horses —
horses standing from sixteen to eighteen hands in height — whose
grandeur or beauty of action is exceeded only by the awful rate at
which they get over their ground. Our late sovereign, George
the Fourth, was celebrated for his noble coach-horses : their trot
in the royal carriages was of the finest description, and he brought
his teams to the highest possible degree of perfection by casting
(for sale) every horse who was not able to keep pace with his
more fortunate competitors. Of a trotting hackney a better epitome
can hardly be given than that contained in the distich of the old
song —

" He was such a one to bend his knees,
And tuck his haunches in*;"

the " tucking of the haunches in," as I remarked before, having
a mighty deal to do with the pace. " The horse that points out
his fore legs, and goes with his knee straight, is no trotter," says
John Lawrence t ; " he loses time by over-striding."

So far as we are able, from general observation, to say what is
the fittest form or structure for a trotting horse, we may set it
down as a rule having but few exceptions, that shortness of the
shafts of the cylindrical bones of the limbs, and uprightness in the
joints, are more conducive to the performance of this action than
length and obliquity. Few race -horses can trot well, owing to
the lengthiness of their limbs and springiness of their joints; and
as for cart-bred horses, though they possess the requisite shortness
of make, their comparatively broad and lax structure is, as I said
before, calculated rather for strength than speed. In general,
horses celebrated for feats of trotting are by no means pleasant
hackneys : when put out at their speed, they use their limbs with
that quickness that does not allow time for the operation of suffi-
cient elasticity to amount to spring, and with that force which
greatly tends to destroy elasticity ; the consequence is, that many
of our most famous trotters are what riding connoisseurs call
" bone setters."

* I know not if I quote correctly. In truth, I have almost lost sight of
the famous old ballad.

j" Treatise on llorsea, &c. 1810.

Sn

THE TROT. 149

To conclude this lecture with some accounts of the feats of trot-
ting horses, we cannot, that I know of, consult better authority
on what has been performed in days gone by than John Lawrence,
who appears, as well as being a sporting character himself, to
have been at some pains to chronicle these, performances. " The
fastest trotter" which, this writer has good reason to suppose,
" has ever been tried in England, was called ARCHER, from the
name of the person who brought him to London." Mr. Lawrence
could not conceive Archer's rate of trotting (for a short distance)
" could be below twenty-Jive miles an hour /" A brown mare, the
property of Bishop — a London dealer in horses — not so speedy as
Archer, but of greater strength and endurance, is said to have
been the first horse that ever trotted sixteen miles in one hour with
twelve stone of burthen, and she performed the distance in fifty-
eight minutes and some odd seconds. " In 1793, Crockett's grey
mare trotted one hundred miles in twelve hours, and had twenty
minutes to spare." — " In 1792, a yellow-bay gelding, called Spi-
der," * * " trotted twenty-four miles in an hour and an half." And
Mr. Lawrence's " own brown mare, known by the name of Betty
Bloss," * * " trotted fifteen miles in one hour, carrying fourteen
stone." Lastly, according to the same authority, " the brown
mare Phenomena performed seventeen miles in less than fifty-three
minutes, carrying a lad of five stone in weight ; and her proprietor
afterwards offered to match her to do nineteen, and after that
nineteen and a half miles within the hour, both of which offers
were declined.

In our own days the Americans appear to have carried off the
palm for fast trotting. We learn from a newspaper called the
Spirit of the Times, published at New York, and dated 29th
July, 1843, that

In June 1841, a bay gelding, called CONFIDENCE, trotted in
harness over the Beacon Course a mile in two minutes and thirty-
five seconds, beating a horse called Washington.

In November 1842, DUTCHMAN, another bay gelding, performed
the same distance in the same time, ridden, over the Hunting Park
Course, beating the bay horse, RlFLE.

In June 1841, Volcano trotted a mile over the Beacon Course
in the wonderfully short interval of two minutes and thirty-one

150 FORM AND ACTION.

and a half seconds ; taking but half a second more to achieve the
same on the following month. And over the same (the Beacon)
Course, in May 1842, RlPTON, a brown gelding, trotted in harness
two miles in the astonishing small space of time of five minutes
and seven seconds ! — the greatest feat of the kind, probably, on
record.

THE GALLOP.

A horse by nature walks, trots, and gallops ; and with these
three paces his speed may be said to receive augmentations from
the comparative slowness of the first until it arrives at the pro-
verbial fleetness of the last : hence the word gallop, in a variety
of figurative senses, is used to imply fast motion or great haste.
Its literal meaning, as regards quadrupeds, is given in our diction-
aries to be moving forward by leaps ; and the animal in the act
of galloping creates that motion in his body which certainly strikes
the casual observer with the notion that he is making at the time
a succession of jumps or leaps. Indeed, some equestrian writers
have gone so far as to define the gallop of speed or racing gallop
to be nothing more than a repetition of leaps. Mr. Blaine ob-
serves, that " as the two fore feet at once beat the ground together,
and then the two hinder, so it is evident that the gallop of speed
is nothing more than a repetition of leaps." Lecoq likewise de-
scribes the galop de course as consisting in une succession de sauts.
In the face, however, of these worthy authorities, I must say that,
to me, the gallop and the leap appear acts of a different nature,
and consequently that we are in error when we say that the one is
no more than a compound or repetition of the other. In galloping
a horse — in hunting for example — the rider needs no person to
tell him of the moment his horse is taking a leap, however
trifling it may be : his own sensations inform him of every grip or
furrow his horse leaps in his course, and should he have occasion
to make a succession of such jumps, the rider's sensations in his
saddle are of a very different — very uneasy — kind, compared to
such as he experiences during the act of galloping. This arises
from two causes : — from the spring or movement of the body neces-
sary to produce the leap being more forcible and sudden than that
required for the gallop, and from the latter being created and con-

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THE GALLOP. 161

tinued rather by the successive action of the two hind feet at one
moment, and of that of the two fore feet at the next moment,
than by the synchronous efforts of either biped, as happens in the
leap. The two great propellers of the animal machine — the hind
feet — are in the leap required to act simultaneously, to make one
grand propulsory effort : not so in the gallop, that being a move-
ment requiring maintaining, not by synchronous exhausting efforts
of the hind feet, but in swift succession, first by one then by the
other ; and the same as regards the office performed by the fore
limbs ; which latter probably amounts to little more in effect than
the sustentation of the fore parts of the body.

The vault into the air required for the leap is only to be effected
by extraordinary subitaneous effort ; but the stride of the gallop,
requiring frequent repetition, does not exact this effort — amounts,
in fact, to no more than a sort of lift from the ground, multiplied
into a reiteration of forcible heavings forward, maintaining, in-
creasing, or diminishing the momentum of speed, effectuated by
throwing the hind feet as far forward underneath the body as pos-
sible, plunging them one after the other with inappreciable rapidity
into the earth, and thus by two strenuous thrusts against the ground,
one in aid of the other, working the animal machine onward in its
fleet — almost flying course. In the gallop as in the trot, no sooner
is a certain momentum acquired than by each successive propul-
sion of the hind feet the body is sprung or lifted off the ground,
flying, as it appears, in the air ; and the greater the speed the more
this volitation becomes apparent ; hence the appellation given to
the pace manifesting the utmost speed of FLYING GALLOP. Even
this, however, according to my judgment, is an action different from
leaping. When a horse leaps or jumps in his gallop — which he
will do sometimes when he is beany, and has but just emerged out
of his stable — he is said to buck, because his action then resembles
that of the deer, in whom the gallop might with a great deal more
propriety be called a succession of leaps : even the deer, however,
cannot continue this bucking action after being driven into his
speed or into a state of fatigue, shewing that in him it is to be re-
garded rather as a gambol than as his proper working onward
action. And that the hind and fore feet, in pairs, are not grounded
synchronously, I think, admits of demonstration in two ways : —

152 FORM AND ACTION.

first, by the position they assume, one in advance of the other, in
the gallop ; secondly, by the clatter the steps of a horse in a gallop
are known to make upon hard or resonant ground, and which may
be heard either by a spectator or by the rider himself ; whence we
probably derive the phrase a rattling gallop.

In the WALK, we found the four limbs acting in such regular
alternation, crosswise or diagonally, that they seemed to beat one,
two, three, four. In the trot, we found this regularity of move-
ment, in regard to time, interrupted and in part destroyed ; the
same order or succession of movement — the diagonal — being still
preserved. In the gallop, however, both the time and order are
inverted. The diagonal movement is no longer seen. Both fore
limbs are projected together, one more or less in advance of the
other ; and their projecture is followed by the simultaneous ad-
vance of the hind limbs, the feet of the latter lodging upon the
ground contiguous to the places just quitted by those of the former,
with that hind foot foremost which corresponds to the fore foot that
is leading. So that galloping differs (leaving the consideration of
speed out of the question) from either walking or trotting, in the
circumstance of the fore and hind feet being projected in pairs, and
also in that of the fore and hind feet of the same side being gene-
rally in advance of their fellows.

With the fore leg which is projected in advance of its fellow,
the horse is said in his canter or gallop to lead : commonly, more
from the directions of art than from any propensity of nature, the
right is the limb that takes the lead, it being by riding-masters
and horsemen of judgment regarded as a fault to lead with the left
leg. Whether natural inclination be for the right or for the left
leg, I will not pretend to say ; but this I know from experience,
that it is an extremely tiresome task to make some horses lead
with the right leg. There are very good equestrians, however, to
whom it is quite a matter of indifference which is the leading leg,
providing the horse canters or gallops in a proper form. The
slower the pace the more conspicuously prominent, in general, is
the leading limb : as the pace increases, this becomes less and less
remarkable, until at length, at full speed, so even is the projecture
of the limbs that it is difficult or impossible to say which is taking
the lead. Where the opposite leg is leading behind to what is in

THE GALLOP. 153

advance in front, the harmony of action being destroyed, so uneasy
a seat is given to the rider, as well as a shake of that nature
to the whole frame of the horse, that forbids, on the part of both,
the discordance to be of long continuance.

The action of the limbs in pairs it is that renders it so difficult —
nay, generably impossible — for a horse to strike at once into a
gallop ; most horses requiring some preparatory movement before
they can work their limbs into the required action and speed. The
momentum once gained, however, the machine by repeated strokes
of the limbs is easily kept in motion. The knowledge of this fact
constitutes the basis of the wager so commonly offered by con-
noisseurs, that a man shall run 50 yards before a horse can gallop
100. Were the race prolonged to 150 yards, the man would find
he stood not the slightest chance of winning it. *

French equestrians distinguish three kinds or gradations of
gallop : — 1. The ordinary or hunting gallop, or the gallop with
three beats ; 2. The manage gallop, or the gallop with four beats ;
3. The racing gallop. The first and third of these accord with
our own practical notions of the pace, but the second can mean no
more than our canter : though where to draw the precise lines be-
tween the canter and what Ave call the hand gallop, and between
the hand and the hunting gallop, or between the latter and the
gallop of full speed, may prove more than any of us are able
satisfactorily to do. There is, certainly, a wide difference between
the paces of canter and gallop ; but to say with precision where
one ends and the other begins — whether the canter ought not to
exceed six or seven miles in an hour, or whether it ought to
amount, as others think, to eight or nine miles in the time, are
points too knotty for me, as a veterinarian, to unravel. Neither
is it easy to determine whether Lecoq be right or wrong in pro-
nouncing there are but three instead of four beats to be heard in
the ordinary gallop ; though I hesitate not to think he is in error
when he says, that the gallop of speed is a pace by itself in which
the body is transported through a succession of leaps. Mr. Blaine,
indeed, notwithstanding he pronounces the gallop of speed to con-
sist in a repetition of leaps, refuses assent to the doctrine of
" foreign manege masters," that " all the gallops are distinct paces.
On the contrary," says he, " I think them all constructed of one

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154 FORM AND ACTION.

and the same action ; of which a sufficient proof presents itself in
the certainty that the horse can change from either of the gallops
into the other without art, without alteration of his centre of motion
or equipoise, or without interrupting the harmony of the moving
members, but merely by an increased or diminished effort of the
same action."

Lecoq presents us with an interesting analysis — a thing difficult
in practice to obtain — of what he regards as the veritable, the
ordinary gallop. In a complete stride or step, " the body is sup-
ported, 1st, upon one hind foot; 2dly, upon two diagonal feet;
3dly, upon one fore foot; 4thly, it is without support — in the air."
" And this succession of tread is so conducted," adds Lecoq, " that
the prints made by the two diagonal feet appear in advance of
those of the opponent diagonal feet: the horse being said to
gallop with the right or with the left leg, according as the right
lateral biped or the left take the lead."

Barring the broad and obvious distinction there exists between
the gallop and the canter, it is difficult, if not impracticable, as I
said j ust now, to draw any lines of division in the gallop farther
than as regards the rate at which the animal is going. At the
same time we must all admit that the gallop, as we witness its
performance by horses of different breeds and shapes, is a pace
admitting of many variations from any standard of galloping
action or rate of speed we may presume to set up. Lecoq's
marks of distinction of four, three, and two beats, will not, I think,
bear the scrutiny of practice ; and even if they did, the perform-
ance of any of the gradations of the pace, from the canter to the
gallop, will prove altogether different by the heavy or cart-horse
from what it would by the light and active or thorough-bred
horse. And again, of horses of the same breed, some are formed
peculiarly well for galloping ; whereas the make of others seems
better adapted for trotting. The racing gallop is evidently so far
a peculiar pace that no other description of horse can execute it
with the same perfection as the race-horse. With the dart-like
projecture of his limbs, lifted no more than sufficiently off the
ground to go clear of obstacles ; with his bending his back and
loins, and lowering himself, and laying himself out at his full
length along the ground ; and with the vast strides and springs

THE GALLOP. 155

forward he in this position is capable of making, he in fleetness
excels almost every other animal, and far surpasses every fellow
of his own kind, not thorough-bred, that can be brought against him.
So far the race-horse — I might in pride say the English racer —
is an animal veritably sui generis. Contrast the clumsy gallop of
the cart-horse — if the pace as he performs it can be so called —
with the airy skimming movement of the race-horse ; nay, com-
pare the high, round, or clambering gallop of the foreign horse, or
that of many of our hacks, our trotters especially, with the racer's
action, and how strikingly different are they found ! All this will
go to demonstrate the truth of what I have just asserted, that, so
far as regard different horses, there are many and various kinds of
gallops, though to class them or make any sort of useful arrange-
ment or distribution of them is a task to which we, for the pre-
sent at least, may find ourselves incompetent.

The circumstances of the cart-horse hardly being able to gallop
at all, while the race-horse is evidently " made for galloping," may
serve, on due consideration, to throw some light on that conforma-
tion of body and limb which is peculiarly characteristic of a good
galloper. Length everywhere in the form of the body appears
indispensable : length of neck, back, and loin ; length of limb, of
arms, and thighs, and pasterns, are all seen to advantage in the
well-formed racer, and must predominate in any horse we may
select in expectation of being a good galloper. On the other hand,
shortness of make, combined with uprightness in the joints, such
as we evidence in the dray or cart horse, may serve for trotting,
but can in nowise answer the purposes of galloping : it is im-
possible for spring and speed to result from such conformation. We
are not, however, to take it for granted that length of body and
limb are the only requisites — that all horses so made can gallop :
some there are that have not the faculty of speed, other require-
ments being wanting. It would, indeed, be a consummation of
the equestrian's skill could he in every instance connect speed
or action with form, and determine when, for want of the neces-
sary adjuncts, although the form was present, the speed must be
absent. As, however, I observed on a former occasion, in conse-
quence of the vital influences having a share in the production of
action and speed, there seems faint chance of the horseman ever

156 FORM AND ACTION.

arriving at such perfection in his art, even supposing the know-
ledge to be within our reach: which, by the by, we are by no
means assured of.

So long as the horse is cantering or but hand-galloping, the hind
feet, advancing in lines either between or to the outer sides of the
fore feet, impress the ground somewhere about the places the
fore feet have just quitted; as the pace increases, however, the
reaches forward of the hind feet become so much the greater, thus
proportionably augmenting their leverage; which, combined with
their increased quickness of action, accounts for the additional
speed. Horses whose chests are not contracted, and who tread
close with their hind feet, throwing them well under the centre of
gravity, advance them in the interval between the fore limbs;
such as have narrow chests or go wide behind throw their hind
feet forward in lines outward of the fore ones : in both cases, at
speed, the hind feet reaching considerably beyond the prints of
the fore feet. And this forward throw of the hind feet underneath
the body is one of the best criterions we can have of the horse
being a good galloper.

The gallop being the pace of speed, it is natural to ask what
feats of dispatch can be or have been performed by our fleetest
horses. There is a story still rife among our jockeys, that the
renowned Flying Childers ran a mile in a minute. This, however,
is an exploit that never was, nor probably ever will be, performed
by living machinery : for a course at the rate of sixty miles an
hour we must make our medium of transport a steam carriage, and
our road a railway. In 1772, however, according to our annals of
sporting, a mile was run by Firetail in a minute and four seconds,
which appears to be the greatest feat of speed on record*.

* I extract the following account of " The Flying Childers" from Captain
Brown's " Biographical Sketches of Horses."

" This horse was well known by the name of the Flying or Devonshire
Childers. He was the property of the Duke of Devonshire, who purchased
him, when young, of Leonard Childers, Esq., of Cart House, near Doncaster.
He was foaled in 1715, and was somewhat more than fifteen hands high.
His sire was the Darby Arabian. He ran against the best horses of his day,
and was never beaten. He was never tried at running a single mile, but his
speed must have been almost a mile in a minute. Carrying nine stone two
pounds, he ran over the round course at Newmarket, which is three miles, six

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157

THE CANTER.

1 have already observed that the canter may be regarded rather
as an artificial than as a natural pace ; not that it is never seen in
a state of nature, for, as I said before, foals may not infrequently
be seen cantering after their dams : still, however, to perform it
well or gracefully requires more training and practice than any
other of the paces. Distinguishable at once as the genuine canter
is from the genuine gallop, yet may a horse's gallop be so re-
duced or his canter so increased in speed that it may puzzle any
of us to say whether the pace he is going be really a gallop or a
canter. Mr. Blaine conceives that " at no period in this pace (the
canter) is the horse all in air;" " whereas in the slow gallop
there is a period in which the legs are all in air ; so an essential
difference occurs." Were Mr. B.'s data founded in fact, the distinc-
tion between the paces of canter and gallop would, indeed, no longer
puzzle us ; but the canter, no more than the gallop, is not uniformly
executed by all horses : some horses there are that canter so slowly
that, as Mr. Blaine observes, they have " always a point of con-
tact with the ground : " others, on the contrary, there are that at
every step in their canter manifestly carry all four feet off the
ground ; and so confound any definition we might construct in
accordance with the going of the former. Lecoq calls the canter
a gallop with four beats, and thus distinguishes it from the ordinary
or hunting gallop, which has, he says, three beats, and from the
racing gallop, to which he assigns but two. I need not, however,
repeat here, it is my opinion that these asserted differences are
not founded in observation. That, according as the rate of speed
varies from the canter to the fleetest gallop, there will be great
differences in the time of succession of the beats of the feet
I have already admitted ; but, that their order becomes different,

furlongs, and ninety-three yards, in six minutes and forty seconds. He also
ran over the Beacon course, which is four miles, one furlong, and one hundred
and thirty-eight yards, in seven minutes and thirty seconds; covering at every
bound a space of twenty-five yards. On one occasion he made a spring or
leap, with his rider on his back, on level ground, of twenty-five feet. Childers
died at the age of twenty-six."

158 FORM AND ACTION.

or that they become, as in leaping, perfectly synchronous, I very
much doubt. Unfortunately, it is only in the canter and the slower
rates of gallop that the matter admits of any sort of ocular
demonstration.

The canter will not only vary as performed by different horses,
but will also prove unlike any standard of the pace we may form
in our mind according as it has been the product of instruction by
a riding-master or as it has come naturally, or been the result of
common-place training or practice on the road. The school or
manage canter differs from the others in being a performance of
more gracefulness, better carriage, and one that calls forth much
more exertion of the bodily powers of the animal, particularly of
his hind quarters : indeed, it requires certain form of body and
action for its perfect execution, and on this account is performable
only by horses in possession of such properties. The lopping or
road canter — the careless, loose-reined swing in which the neck
is straightened and the head protruded — is altogether a different
performance of the same pace. Lecoq says, that the elevation of
the fore quarter in the canter is the reason why the beats, which
in the gallop were simultaneous, become separate and distinguish-
able, the fore limbs taking longer to descend than the hind ones:
since, after all however, both pairs of feet (hind and fore) must
take their turns in being planted upon the ground, and since the
hind cannot accomplish progression without the aid of the fore
limbs, the only difference this elevation of the fore quarters can
produce is lengthening the interval the hind feet are upon the
ground, according to the prolongation of that of the fore feet in the
air.

All paces admit of improvement by practice, none in a greater
degree than the canter. No other pace allows of the display of
such grace and elegance of movement and carriage, and the mani-
festation of these is always a proof to us that the animal has either
received " lessons in the school," or else has been used by a rider
skilled in equitation. It is the easiest of the faster paces to the
rider, and, perhaps, the least fatiguing to the horse when he has
once learnt to perform it with facility, and on this account is often
preferred by gentlemen, always by lady equestrians. A good
cantering hack is a valuable acquisition. Some of the foreign

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THE AMBLE. 159

horses canter with remarkable ease and elegance, a faculty they
owe to the superior aptitude they possess over British horses of
going upon their haunches ; and nothing conduces more to engender
this aptitude, where it is not natural in a horse, than school dis-
cipline, of which the continental horses in general get, I believe, a
great deal more than our own horses do : indeed, with the excep-
tion of military horses and a few others, the nags used in this
country rarely see the inside of a riding-school.

THE AMBLE.

We might regard what goes by the name of the amble as a
pace truly artificial had it not been occasionally seen in foals, and,
as Lecoq informs us, was it not natural to certain wild animals,
in particular to giraffes ? All equestrian writers appear to agree
in their description of it — in its being a pace performed by the
combined operation of the fore and hind limbs of either side ; one
biped being in the air while the opposite one is upon the ground,
and thus alternating their action. Lecoq has happily likened this
one-sided action constituting the amble to the gait of two men
marching a la militaire in open file, with an interval of about a
couple of seconds between their steps. We are informed by the
same authority that every advance made by either biped amounts
to about a third more than the admeasurement from fore foot to
hind while the animal is standing still; and that while the pace is
performing the hind foot invariably over-passes the print of the
corresponding fore foot, thereby obtaining great advantage of
leverage.

" If," says Lecoq, " the amble has with reason been banished
from the manage, it is no less sought after, on account of the dou-
ceur de ses reactions, by persons who prefer ease or convenience
to brilliancy of pace or action. A distinction, however, must be
made between the ambler by nature and the horse in whom the
pace is the product of education or the result of weakness."

In former days — in those good old days when the pillion was in
fashion — the amble bears record of being a pace in considerable
request: an ambling horse was a treasure as an easy and safe

160 FORM AND ACTION.

roadster, and if not so very expeditious in his movements for a
short distance, yet by his untiring continuance at the same rate
at the end of a long journey was he found to have gone over more
ground, and in less space of time, than any person unacquainted
with his stealing pace would have imagined. At the present day,
however, one never sees an ambling nag; neither are canterers so
abundant as they used to be: walk, trot, and gallop, are all people
in these days of reduction of every thing down to the scale of bare
usefulness seem to care about,

X

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