The horse in the stable and the field : his varieties, management in health and disease, anatomy, physiology, etc. . to afford room for the heart and lungs toperform their funct ons in its chest, without interfering with the play ofthe shoulders ; and, thirdly, to lodge an efficient apparatus of nutrition. EXTERNAL FOIIMATION 101 The first of these divisions comprehends the dack, loins, and croup ;the second is the chest ; and the third may bo considered under the hc;ul of THE BACK-RIBS, FLANK, AND BELLY. The Back, Loins, and Croup of the race-horse, as indeed of all horsesbut those used exclu
The horse in the stable and the field : his varieties, management in health and disease, anatomy, physiology, etc. . to afford room for the heart and lungs toperform their funct ons in its chest, without interfering with the play ofthe shoulders ; and, thirdly, to lodge an efficient apparatus of nutrition. EXTERNAL FOIIMATION 101 The first of these divisions comprehends the dack, loins, and croup ;the second is the chest ; and the third may bo considered under the hc;ul of THE BACK-RIBS, FLANK, AND BELLY. The Back, Loins, and Croup of the race-horse, as indeed of all horsesbut those used exclusively for draught, are generally described as necessarilymoulded more or less in the form of an arch. Every architect is awarethat this formation is best adapted to carry weight. A straight-backedgreyhound is, by some experienced coursers, preferred to one which has aslight arch in that part; but in this animal there is no weight to be carriedbeyond that of his own carcass, and, therefore, even granting the superiorityin him of a straight loin (which I do not), there is no analogy between the lt^S5^>^^.pfe4. ^^/j^^^.^y two animals. Nor do I believe altogether in the received theory whichattaches importance to the arched loin, because of its greater caioacity forbearing weight from its mechanical form. Practically I concede, as anadmitted fact, that a horse with this construction of frame will carryweight better than one which has a holloAV loin; but, on examining theskeleton of each, it will be seen that in neither are the bodies of thevertebrro in this part of the spine arranged so as to form an arch, or ifthere is one, it has its concavity, not its convexity upwards, which certainlywill not conduce to its weight-bearing powers. The fact really is, that inthe arched loin the spinous processes are unusually long, and are raised intoa crest like the high withers. By this development of bone an extra spaceis afforded, for both the lodgment and attachment of muscles, and herei
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublisher, booksubjecthorses
