xt722804xp79 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt722804xp79/data/mets.xml Lawrence, Richard, veterinary surgeon. 1804  books b98-40-41900390 English R. Baldwin, : London : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Horses Diseases. Horses. Inquiry into the structure and animal economy of the horse  : comprehending the diseases to which his limbs and feet are subject, with proper directions for shoeing; and pointing out a method for ascertaining his age until his twelfth year. ToTo which is added, an attempt to explain the laws of his progressive motion, on mechanical and anatomical principles / by Richard Lawrence. Illustrated by seventeen copper plates. text Inquiry into the structure and animal economy of the horse  : comprehending the diseases to which his limbs and feet are subject, with proper directions for shoeing; and pointing out a method for ascertaining his age until his twelfth year. ToTo which is added, an attempt to explain the laws of his progressive motion, on mechanical and anatomical principles / by Richard Lawrence. Illustrated by seventeen copper plates. 1804 2002 true xt722804xp79 section xt722804xp79 



                        AN


                INQUIRY

                      INTO THE

STRUCTURE AND ANIMAL ECONOMY

                         OF


         THE HORSE;

                    COMPREHEN DING
THE DISEASES TO WHICH HIS LIMBS AND FEET ARE SUBJECT,
                        WITH

      PROPER DIRECTIONS FOR SHOEING;
                   AND POINTINCG OUT

A Alethod for ascertaining his Age until his Twelfth Yeaw.
                  TO WHICH IS ADDED,

 An Attempt to explain the Laws of his Progressive Motion,
                         ON
      MECHANICAL AND ANATOMICAL PRINCIPLES.


        ILLUSTRATED BY SEVENTEEN COPPER PLATES.


      BY RICHARD LAWRENCE,
             VETERINARY SURGEON, BIRMINGHAM.


          A NEW EDITION AErISED AND CORRECTED.


          Confinuo pecoris generosi pullus in arvis
          Altius ingreditur, et mollia crura reponit:
          Primus et ire viam, et fluvios tentare minaces
          Audet, et ignoto sese committere ponti:
          Nec vanos horret strepitus.  VIRGIL. GEORG. Lib. iii.


                     1unbon:
 PRINTED FOR ROBERT BALDWvIN, PATERNOSTER ROW;
     SOLD ALSO AT BIRMIVNGHAM, BY MESSRS. BEILRV JUN. AND CO.,
                BY MR. RICHARD JABET, &C.

 









































Printed at the Office of the Executors
  of T. A. Pearson, Birmingham.

 
                       TO

             THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

       LORD HEATHFIIELD.

    MY LORD,


        GRATITUDE for the repeated favors

I have received at your Lordship's hands, would

alone slfficiently induce me thus publickly to

acknoawledge them; but when I consider how greatly

the Veterinary Art is indebted to 0)our gLvefrous

patronage, I frel an additional incentive to dedicate

to your Lordship thesefirst fruits of my literary

labours.



   The annals of the Veterinary College testify,

that 01our Lordship has ever stoodforemost in cxer-

                     A 3                 tions

 
( Vi j



tions for its intercst and prosperity, by taking

that institution under your Protection, and endea-

vouring to rescue an. useful animal from the baneful

effects of ignorance and prejudice.    That your

Lordship may live to see the object of your wishes

completely fidfilled, is the ardent prayer of



                Your Lordship's


          Mfost devoted and most obliged


                           Humble Servant,



RICHARD LAWRENCE.

 

             PREFACE.





NEXT in dignity to that branch of thc medical
art which is applicable to the human species,
me may, with propriety, class that which has
for its object the diseases of the horse.


   IT therefore appears extraordinary, that,
until a recent period, neither humanity nor in-
terest should have prompted mankind to inves-
tigate, on scientific principles, the Veterinary
Art, which must certainly be of the first Im-
portance in a country which abounds with the
finest horses in the world.



Tun



A 4

 
PREFACE.



   THE necessity of long study in anatomy,

pathology, and the composition of drugs, to

qualify a practitioner in medicine, is universally

acknowellcdg7cc, and as the horse exists by

similar laws, and is subject to many of the dis-

eases incident to mankind, it cannot require

much penctration to discover that studies of the

same nature must be absolutely requisite to con-

stitute a good farrier.  But if conclusions were

to be drawn from the basis on which the vete-

rinary system has hitherto rested, it would seem

that the science of farriery has been considered

as a natural gift, and not in the least dependant

on the tedious process of medical inquiry and


    Cicero, in his orations, makes the following just
observation: " Medico diligenti, priusquam conetur oegro
adhibere medicinam non solum morbus ejus cui medere
vole.t, sed etiam consuetudo valeiitis, et natura corporis cog-
noscerida est."
                                           inves-



Vill

 
PREFACE.



investigation; for every blacksmith, groom, and

stable boy, not only conceives himself, but is
often believed by his employer to be fully
competent to the important task of curing
diseases, of the nature of which he is totally

ignorant.


   SURELY nothing can be more absurd than
to imagine that a groom, by having fed and
cleaned a horse for a fewu years, must conse-
quently become acquainted with his diseases

and their causes; it would be equally plausible
to assert, that because he knows by ocular ex-
perience, that the sun rises in the morning and
sets at night, lhe must be an astronomer. The
majority of the affluent, to avoid the trouble of
reflection, suffer themselves to be influenced in
matters of this nature by men, whose opinions

                                            on



iS

 
PREFACE.



on any other subject they would treat with the

utmost conteiiml)t.


    IEW things can be more affecting to a con-
templative and humane mind, than the suffer-
ings of a mute and patient animal, the estimable
contributor to our pleasures and comforts, when
afflicted with some violent disease in vhich
nature exerts her utmost efforts to reliev herself;
but how must this scene of distress be heighten-
ed, could the proprietor be convinced, that the
very men lie applies to for assistance only ag-
gravate the evil by their ignorance,


   THE most lcarned and experienced physi-
ciars confess the insufficiency of their art, and
consequently their attention is directed to the
means of rendering it less fallible. To men of
                                          this



x

 
PREFACE.



this description, the infinite varieties which the

same disease presents in different habits, will
sufficiently demonstrate the difficulties attending
their practice; but the empyric, whose confi-

dence ever keeps pace with his want of
skill, boldly prescribes the same treatment
under every difference of age, sex, and consti-
tution.


    CONSONANT to this was the practice of far-

riery, until the establishment of the 'Veterinary
College took place.


    THE treatises written on the subject before

 that period, were found to be so fallacious in the
 description of diseases, as well as in the propor-
 tions of drugs prescribed, that it was judged ne-
 cessary to begin de novo. Horses were procured

                                             for



xi

 
xii              PREFACE

for the purposes of dissection, and of making

experiments with regard to the quantity of dif-
ferent medicines which might be given with

safety, as well as to their effects.


    THE professor and pupils were liberally se-

 conded in their endeavours by the following

 gentlemen, whose names are sufficient testimo-

 nials of their abilities, viz. Sir GEO. BAKER,

 Mr. CLINE, Mr. ABERNETHY, Dr. GEO. FOR-
 DYCE, Mr. J. HUNTER, Dr. BAILLIE, Mr.

 CRUIKSHANKS, and Mr. HOME; the latter

 five generously granted to the pupils of the

 college the liberty of gratuitous attendance at

 several courses of their respective lectures. To

 this source I shall always be proud to acknow-

 ledge myself much indebted, and shall ever

hold it in grateful remembrance.



WITH

 
                  PREFACE.                 xiii

   WITH respect to the plan of the present

work, it will be perceived that I have not en-
tered very extensively into a description of in-
ternal diseases, from a conviction that such a
treatise would be attended with more danger
than utility.


   THE internal diseases of horses, except some
few which are well marked, are so obscure as
even to baffle the skill of an experienced prac-
titioner in his endeavours to ascertain theni.


   HENCE it cannot be expected that proprie-
tors of horses, from the casual and confined
observation furnished by their own stables, can
acquire the faculty of discrimination in this
respect, and the mischief arising from an im-
proper administration of medicine, must be suf-
                                       ficientvl v

 
PREFACE.



ficiently obvious both from condid reflection

and fatal experience. To confirm more strong-

ly this remark, I am in possession of many
proofs within the circle of my own employers,

where horses have fallen a sacrifice, particularly
in attempts to destroy worms, and yet we see
exhibited at the window of every druggist's
shop, a list of horse medicines prepared from
the most approved recipes; nor does the evil

termitnatc here, since regularly educated veteri-
narians, bartering their better judgment for
temporary interest, carry on the traffic in the
form of medicine chests, with pamphlets con-
taining directions for making use of their con-
tents. This is certainly a cheap mode of
conveying knowledge, and, if well founded,

must do away at once the necessity of a veteri-

nary college, and all its relative studies.



BUT



x,\,

 
PREFACE.



   BuT farther to obviate any disappointment

which might accrue to my readers, in not
meeting in the following pages with what has
been generally termed a compleat system of
farriery, I have only to add, that I have direct-
ed my endeavours to point out the means of
preventing diseases, and thereby to save the

animal the pain and danger of undergoing
medical discipline from the hands of those
who are unqualified for that purpose; and I

wish it to be understood, that my motive for in-
troducing the foregoing observations originated
purely from the conviction, that this branch of
medicine, as well as all others, would, in every
point of view, be more beneficial to the public,

and to practitioners themselves, if it was di-

vested of those little artifices which lhave too

long disgraced it.



FOR



x v

 
PREFACE.



   FOR this reason I have treated principally

on the structure and diseases of the limbs, shoe-
ing, management of the stable, &c. than which,
1 conceive, nothing can be more important.
How far I have succeeded, I must submit to
the candour of the public to determine.  I
shall at least possess the satisfaction of having
endeavoured to promote the science, by pro-
mulgating that theory which I have found to
be true in practice.


   THE source of peculiar properties in the

structure and motion of the animal is, in gene-
ral, but little understood. This branch I have
attempted to elucidate upon mechanical and
anatomical principles; and the explanatory
plates being designed by myself, will, I trust,
                                            be



Xon

 
PREFACE.



be more accurate than they would have been

from the hands of a second pelrson.


   To the Professor at the Veterinary College,

and my Fellow Pupils, the privilege of criti-

cism more immediately belongs; but I feel

much confidence in the expectation of their

candour and impartiality, more especially
when I declare, that it wvill always give me

pleasure to acknowledge any improvements

which their industry and abilities may hereafter

produce.



. .

 This page in the original text is blank.

 

            CON1YTEVTS.




                CHAPTER I.


ON the external Conformation of the Horse

                CHAPTER 11.



On the Eye



31



CHAPTER III.



On Shoeing, and the Diseases of the Foot

               CHAPTER 1V.



On the Grease



-      -      -     -    69



CHAPTER V.



On Lameness



_      _      _      -    83



CHAPTER VI.



Oii Wounds



_      _      -     _     107



CHAPTER VII.



On Respiration, natural and diseased



-      115



CHAPTER



Page
- 11



_     43



a 2

 

CONTENTS.


CHAPTER VIII.



On the Structure and (Economy of the Stable



CHAPTER iX.



Oni the Age of the Horse



-      171



CHAPTER X.



On the Education of the Horse


                CHAPTER XI.



On Progression



_      _    181



_      -     _    -     19J



iNDEX.



xx-K



133

 





Page



EAR.



Form of, bad consequences of clipping the-
  hair from the inside of it  -   I



8



EYE.    Its healthy and diseased state   -        31
        Hawe, or membrana nictitans, its use    33
        Lachrymal duct, obstruction of   -       41



FOOT. Its form and component parts       -        26
        Treatment of it in shoeing -      -      47
        Pumied or convex sole     -        -     52
        Contracted hoof       -        -         55
        Corns-     -        -      -       -     59
        Diseased frog or running thrush   -      61
        Quittor     -        -      -      -     66



GREASE. Description of and method of cure

HORSE. Proportion considered        -      -
          Fore quarters, conformation of
          Body, proportion of   -     -     -
          Hind quarters, conformation of



71



   6
   10
- 17
  20
Age,



INDEX.

 

INDEX.



        Agc, method of ascertaining it
        MeI thods c:nploved by dealers to make an  
           old Horse appear younger  -

        Ditto to make a horse which is four years)
          old appear to be five    -
        Education
        Blood, characteristic of

LAMENESS          -         -
        Splent       -        _
        Ring-bone       -        -       -
        Stiff joint or anchylosis
        Bone spavin
        Strain of the sheath of the tendon
        Rupture of the suspensor ligaments



Windgalls
Thorough pins
Blood spaviln-
Bo, spavin
Curb        -
Coffin joint, lameness of
Iduscular lameness
Rheumiiatism       --
Si)asni       -
8trironialt    -



-       _       94

       _         95
       -          96
    -           ibid.
_       _         97

       -          98
-       -        100
      _ -       101

                 102
-        -      ibid.
    PROGRESSION



Page
171

17


178

181
185

83
82
8G
87

89
92

93



xxii

 

                      INDEX.


PROGRESSION            -        -       -
         Walk          -        -       -
         Trot
         Forging, or striking the fore feet with the
           hind feet, method of preventing it
        Trotting widely with the hind legs, the
           reason of it       _        _
         Canter and gallop      -         _
         Danger of stopping suddenly in the gallop
         Passage
         Advantage of teaching this pace


RESPIRATION              -            _



        Peculiar form of the throat of tb
        Peculiar form of the nostrils
        Broken wind
        Roarer described
        Crib-biter     -       -


STABLE. Structure and Economy of
        Ventilation
        Light .
        Narrow stalls, inconvenience of



horse     116
-        118
-         121
-        126
-        129


-        135
  -      138
  -        143
  -      145



Ground surface of the stall, erroneous con-  46
  struction of     -         -
                                      Organs



xxiii



Page
193
194
200

202


205

208
214
ibid.
216


115



he

 

INDEX.



       Organs of digestion described
       Staggers         -
       Diet       -         -
       Water      -        _
       Training hunters and racers

SHOE. Improper form considered
       Proper form for a good foot
       Bad consequence of applying it



        Page
 _     151
_        155
_      157
-       160
-      161



hot



WOUNDS



-       45
_       47
        48



-       107



         ADVERTISEMENT.


             TIIE Reader is requested to observe, that
fTH! TREATISE has no connexion whatever with one pub-
!h:hed by Jolts 4 LAWRENCE.



CHAPTER



XxIv

 
AN INQUIRY



    INTO THE STRUCTURE AND ANIMAL (ECONOMY
                    OF THE

               HOIRSE.


               CHAPTER I.
          On the external Conformz ation.




CONSIDERED in his relative situation in the
class of quadrupeds, the horse appears not to be
so immediately conducive to the necessary com-
forts of man, as those animals which furnish
food or raiment; but when his utility in agri-
culture, and in the transport of merchandise, as
well as the share -be contributes to our case
and pleasure, are viewed collectively, the horse
has an undoubted claim to precedence, and
consequently to an ample share of attention.
                      T          TH E

 
2 ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION.
    THE horse possesses speed, strength, and
beauty, conjunctively in a degree far superior to
all other animals. He is also more docile, and
more easily applied to the service of man, whether
for luxurious or laborious uses. For the pur-
poses of parade he is peculiarly adapted, by a
beautiful proportion and an innate pride and
grandeur of deportment, particularly manifest
in the manege, whliere, by the spirit and ele-
gance of his movements, lie appears to partici-
pate with his rider in the ostentatiouls pleasure.
When employed in the field or the race, he
visibly demonstrates the ardour of emulation,
and finally merits our gratitude, by the patience
and perseverance with which he endures the
lower offices of labour and hardships of fatigue.


   AN animal possessing suclh estimable quali-
ties, must certainly have claims on our attention
sufficient to call forth an inquiry into his struc-
ture and animal cecoinomy, on more scientific
principles than has hitherto been accomplished.
                                            IN

 
ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION.



   IN the exposition of the external structure,
which I have attempted in the following sheets,
I certainly do not lay claim to originality in
the undertaking, since certain French veterinary
writers, particularly Bourgelat, have treated on
the subject, and the late Mr. St. Bel, who was the
first professor at the veterinary college, had it in
contemplation to publish a work of the same
nature, but did not live to complete his inten-
tions. With regard to myself, the profession of
portrait painter of horses, which I have pursued
in conjunction with the veterinary practice, has
directed my attention particularly to this branch
of the science; and the accuracy of observation
which the eye acquires by making draughts
from living objects, has probably enabled me to
make more minute researches than might have
been effected by others who possessed not the
same advantages. The principles upon which I
have founded the present system, I can with
truth affirm to be the result of experience.
                      B2                  The



3

 
4 ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION.
The data have been taken from the majority of
objects in the same class, as no particular laws
have yet been discovered which are unexcep-
tionable in explaining the operations of nature,
her productions being frequently in direct con-
tradiction to our metaphysical reasoning.


   As no accurate judgment in the propor-
tions of architecture can be formeJ without
possessing some knowledge of its rudiments, so
can no experience in the proportions of a horse
be acquired without some general acquaintance
with his external anatomy.


   HABITUAL observation may, in some de-
grec, impart the faculty of discriminating in this
respect; but it can never produce a true funda-
mental knowledge of the advantages or disad-
vantages arising from  certain peculiarities of
'tru cture



HIENCE

 
ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION.



   HENCE we find every man adapts his ideas
of perfcction to the peculiar conformation of his
own horse.


   FOR instance, the proprietor of a long legged
horse will tell you, that he is thereby better en-
abled to clear his leaps; while, on the other
hand, another, who has a short legged horse,
assures you, that no other can get so well through
a heavy road; a third, who possesses a long
backed horse, declares that they must have
length somewhere; and, finally, the dealer in
horses, who keeps fifty in his stables, sums up
the business on a broad scale, and answers all
your objections by asserting that they will go in
all forms.


   IT would be thoroughly incompatible with
the object of the present work, to suffer it to be
biassed by such vague opinions, generated rather
by partial comparison, than by actual experi-
mCent.



B  TH EY



5



B 3

 
6 ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION.
   THEY who have no knowledge of mcchani-
cal powers, will, perhaps, ridicule the idea of
reducing the animal to any such principle.
Anatomical dissection, however, presents a ma-
chine of the truest mechanism, capable of loco-
motion by means of muscles acting upon bones
in various directions.


   THIS being the fact, it will not be difficult
to discover in what way the power of those mus-
cles may be increased or diminished, not entirely
by their own susceptibility of stimulus, but
simply by their position when in a state of in-
action. To explain this theory, will be the ob-
ject of the present chapter.


    THE body and legs of the horse, exclusively
of the head and tail, may be said to form nearly
a square, as represented in plate I.


    THIS square is divided horizontally into two
parts, nearly equal, by the body and legs, as re-
presented by the line A A.

 
    ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION. 7
    IT is again perpendicularly divided into
three parts, as expressed by the lines B C.


   THE first of these lines B, descends perpen-
dicularly fiom the withers to the ground, and
gives the proportion of the fore quarters.


   THE second line C divides the body from
the hinder quarters, and shews their propor-
tion. These three divisions are nearly equal,
except that the center division is rather the
widest.


   THE necessity for this general proportion
will be explained hereafter.


   THE head should be snmall, and the counte-
nance animated; the forehead straight and
broad, the eye prominent, the cars erect, the
nostrils open and thin, the mouth lean and deep,
the posterior part of the lower jaw should be
open and capacious, which contributes much to
                      B 4                  the

 
S   ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORNIATION.
the freedom of bending the head inwards, and
is also considered to facilitate respiration.


    THE form of the ear is admirably adapted
for the purpose of collecting sound; and it is
worthy of remark, that a horse seldom sleeps
without pointing one ear forwards and the
other backwards, to enable him to receive
notice of the approach of objects in either di-
rection.


    THE horse's sense of hearing is very acute,
and it is a fact pretty well known by sportsmen,
that he can hear the cry of the hounds at a
greater distance than his rider. Hence it will
scarcely be necessary to point out the absurdity
of cropping; yet there exists another bad cus-
tom, nearly as injurious as the former, viz. trim-
ming the hair close out of the ears. The utility
of hair in that part consists in moderating
sound, excluding cold air, rain and flies, and
other extraneous substances, which might other-
                                         wise

 

     ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION. 9
wise drop into the ear. The method of trim-
ming the ears is by singeing the hair with a
candle, and as the ear itself is frequently injured
and rendered sore by this process, the horse in
consequence becomes shy of any thing ap-
proaching his head.


    THE form of the mouth and lips clearly in-
dicates that the animal was intended to be guid-
cd by the bit, as there are no teeth in that
part to prevent the action of it against the
bars of the mouth. Lean lips are most sensible
of impression, and are therefore to be pre-
ferred.


     The ears of all animals are defended in some pecu-
liar manner. The mole which lives under ground, and
whose ear is constantly exposed to the ingress of earthy
particles, has the faculty of closing that orifice by means
of a sphincter muscle.
   The human ear also secretes a fluid, which, being waxy
and cohesive, arrests the progress of insects and dust, and
prevents their entrance.



As

 
10 ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION.
   As deformity is constituted by a want of
harmony in the component parts, it will not be
difficult to perceive, that a long head and a
short neck, or a short head and a long neck,
cannot be esteemed handsome.


   THE neck should proceed in a line from the
top of the head, forming a regular progressive
curve to the withers. The trachea or windpipe
should be large in diameter, and somewhat de-
tached from the fleshy part of the neck. The
size of its diameter has a considerable influence
in respiration. Large windpipes are peculiar to
blood horses, whence, probably, they are better
winded than all others. The chief beauty of
the forehand depends on the union of the neck
with the shoulders.  The neck should issue
high, and nearly in a line with the withers, and
its lower part should enter the chest high, and
above the point of the shoulders: the opposite con-
formation to this produces what is termed an ewe
neck, which can never be esteemed handsome.
                                        THE

 
ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION. 11



   THE shoulders constitute the center of mo-
tion in the fore part of the body, and the extent
and elasticity of that motion will depend chiefly
on the position of the shoulder blades. The
connexion of the shoulder blades with the body
is established by muscles only, independently
of any joint whatever. It is by the alternate
contraction and extension of these different mus-
cles that motion is produced, and it is by their
united elasticity that the shock is broken when
in action.


    THIS would not have been the case, had
the shoulder terminated in a fixed joint. The
truth of this remark may be ascertained by
riding alternately on the withers and the croupe,
and comparing the difference of their respective
motions.


    As it is the office of the hinder quarters to
 propel the body forwards, it is necessary that
 they should be closely united with the body by
                                         means

 
ic  ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION.
mcans of Joints. But, on the other hand, as the
fore quarters are chiefly employed in sustaining
the equilibrium of the machine, the concussion
which must have been produced if they had
been united to the body by joints, would have
been considerably greater than what is produced
by their being attached by muscles only. In
describing the action of the shoulder, it will be
necessary to consider its position when in a state
of immobility.


    THE scapula or blade bone is placed ob-
liquely from the chest to the withers, and the
center of its action is fixed in the middle of it.
In its action, it describes as large a portion of a
circle as the extension of its muscles will admit.
If this portion of a circle, for instance, be ten
degrees, and two different scapule possess the
same degree of extension, the one situated ob-
liquely (vide plate 2, figo. 1) the other perpendi-
cularly (fig. 2) it must necessarily follow, that,
acting on their respective centers, the one which
                                              is

 
ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION. 13



is oblique must elevate its lower extremity
higher than that which is perpendicular, and
consequently will increase the projection of
every part of the fore limb. Hence it appears,
that an oblique position of the shoulder is most
favourable for progression.


   THE shoulder may want liberty either by
being too fleshy or too lean.  In the first in-
stance it is overloaded, and in the last, it pos-
sesses not muscle sufficient to enable it to per-
form its functions with strength and celerity.


   THE: muscles of the chest contribute greatly
to the motion of the lower part of the shoulder.
Hence a strong and moderately full chest, is to
be preferred to one that is narrow and meagre.
It will probably be urged, that horses are some-
times possessed of great speed, whose forehands
in no wise agree with this description; but such
horses are generally endowed with particular
powers in their hinder quarters.   The fore
                                       quarters

 
i . ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION.



quarters are merely passive, and extend them-
selves to receive the weight of the body, and if
they are sufficiently strong for that purpose, the
animal may certainly move with considerable
velocity; but thence it is not to be inferred, that
a greater velocity might not be produced if both
the fore and hinder quarters were alike perfect
in their conformation.


   THE fore legs will next come under consi-
deration, on the good structure of which the
safety and ease of the pace of the animal will
chiefly depend.


   A horse, whose legs are twisted, or impro-
perly placed too far under his body, may pos-
sess great speed; but that his action must be
imperfect, the following reasons will sufficiently
demonstrate:


    IF the foot turns either inwards or outwards,
it cannot alight flat on the ground, in which
                                          case

 
    ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION. 15
case the position can never be firm and steady,
because the pressure will be partial on either the
inward or outward quarter of the foot. If the
leg is not perfectly straight from the shoulder to
the foot (vide plate 3, fig,. 1) its action cannot be
true, nor the center of gravity so readily found,
as by one that is even and uniform in all its
parts (fig. 2). If the elbow inclines inwards
close to the ribs (fig. 1, A A) the leg must be
thrown sideways when in action, which will re-
move the foot too far from the center of gravity,
and produce a lateral rolling motion very un-
pleasant to the rider. Again, if the legs incline
too much under the body, they will be over-
loaded, and the freedom of their action will be
reduced in proportion as they are oppressed.


   THE fore legs, to be perfect, should, in a
front view, be widest at the chest, gradually ap-
proaching each other downwards towards the
foot, and descending in a perpendicular direction
to the ground, as exemplified in plate 3, fig. 2.
                                          Tim

 
16 ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION.
   THE tipper part of the fore leg next the
shoulder, should be broad and muscular.


   THE power of elevating the knee, and throw-
ing the leg forwards, depends much on the size
of the muscles in this part.


   THE knee in a front view should be broad,
flat, and square; the lower part of the limb, be-
tween the knee and the fetlock, should be short,
flat, and wide in a lateral view. The tendons
should be distinct, firm, and detached from the
bone. The fetlock should correspond in pro-
portion with the rest of the leg, neither too up-
right nor too sloping. If it is too long, its abi-
lity of sustaining the weight of the body will be
diminished; and if it is too short, it will be liable
to knuckle over. Short pasterns are generally
attended with contracted feet, the weight of the
body not being thrown so much on the heel as
is the case with long pasterns.



THE

 

     ON THE EXTERNAL CONFORMATION. 17
     THE general proportion of the limb is consti-
 tuted by two equal divisions, viz. from the elbowv
 to the knee, and from the knee to the ground.


    THE length of the fore leg should corres-
pond with that of the hind leg, that is to say,
the elbow D, should describe a horizontal line
with the stifle E, plate 1, otherwise the harmony
of motion is lost, as is the case in a carriage,
where the fore wheels are of a smaller diameter
than the hinder wheels, on which account they
are obliged to perform three revolutions to two
of the latter.



                THE BODY


   CONTAINS the principal viscera and organs
of life. The common appellation of this part,
amongst horsemen, is the carcase; thus a horse
is said to be long or short in the carcase. A
horse which is short in the carcase, is usually