. Points of the horse; a treatise on the conformation, movements, breeds and evolution of the horse. Horses. 126 COMPARATIVE SHAPE OF HORSES. between animals of speed and those of strength is that the former have comparatively long legs, and that the latter have comparatively short ones. We have in the camel a well- marked exception to this rule. The Ship of the Desert, as we may see in Fig. 228, has very long legs in comparison to his length of body, and yet he is extremely slow for his size. The cause of his lack of speed is chiefly owing to the weakness of his ''rearing muscles" (p, 52
. Points of the horse; a treatise on the conformation, movements, breeds and evolution of the horse. Horses. 126 COMPARATIVE SHAPE OF HORSES. between animals of speed and those of strength is that the former have comparatively long legs, and that the latter have comparatively short ones. We have in the camel a well- marked exception to this rule. The Ship of the Desert, as we may see in Fig. 228, has very long legs in comparison to his length of body, and yet he is extremely slow for his size. The cause of his lack of speed is chiefly owing to the weakness of his ''rearing muscles" (p, 52), and to the straightness of the column of bones of his fore limb (p. 50). Hence, when he tries to go quickly, he is unable to raise his. Fig. 228.—Camel. fore hand sufficiently to obtain a well-regulated period of suspension, like that of the horse (Figs. 62, 131, and 145). His gallop, which he attempts only on rare occasions, has so much up and down motion in it that he can continue it but for a very short time. His usual fast pace is a kind of amble which has no period of suspension. The muscles of his limbs, as compared to the weight of his body, are very poorly developed. Many ''weedy'' horses (p. 239) which have long legs are deficient in speed from causes similar to those that render the camel slow. The law as to length of limb can be amply verified, other things being equal,. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Hayes, M. Horace (Matthew Horace), 1842-1904. London, W. Thacker & co
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjecthorses, bookyear1897
