The Horse Structure and Movement

R.H Smythe.

Second edition revised by P.C Goofy.

Published by J.A Allen & CO. limited.

Second hand, paperback, includes illustrations.

This book has been written in response to a great many requests from judges and breeders of horses, owners and exhibitors, and from many who ride for pleasure. All desired to learn more about the framework of the body hidden beneath the skin and concerning the mechanism which propels the body. Most were anxious to discover what gave pattern to the various contours of the body and also what constituted good or bad conformation and whether good conformation implied good performance. The book has been written for the layman rather than for the veterinary surgeon who has studied anatomy in far greater detail than is needed in this volume; although some may possibly find something of interest in the sections dealing with movement.

The illustrations are all to be regarded as diagrammatic. They are intended to convey to the reader's mind in the simplest form some idea of the nature and relationship of parts of the body engaged in various gaits, especially in connection with galloping and jumping.

The book is written in sections rather than chapters, each fairly complete in itself. This entails some mild repetition but it enables cach to be understood without undue reference to other sections. The appendix is selected from a series of articles published in Horse and Hound in 1965, reproduced by permission of the editor.

R. H. SMYTHE.