[Illustration: FIG. 51. Calf-kneed.] [Illustration: FIG. 52. Acute-angled foot (low-jointed).] =The position of a fore-limb viewed in profile= is regular or normal (Fig. 48) when a perpendicular line dropped from the tuberosity of the acromian spine (point of union of the upper and middle thirds of the scapula or shoulder-blade) divides the leg from the elbow to the fetlock into anterior and posterior halves of equal width, and touches the ground immediately back of the bulbs of the heel. A perpendicular line dropped from the point of union of the middle and lower thirds of the scapula (shoulder-blade) will cut the humerus into halves, and meet the ground between the toe and the heel.[2] The _foot-axis_ (line of direction of the three phalanges) and the wall at the toe form an angle of from forty-five to fifty degrees with the horizontal ground-surface. [2] =In station of rest=, the normal position of a fore-leg, as seen from the side, is somewhat different. The _station of rest_ is the position that is maintained with the least possible muscular effort. With gradual muscular relaxation the head and neck sink to a point somewhat below the line of the back, the top of the shoulder-blade sinks a little, and the shoulder and elbow joints move forward till the centre of the elbow joint is directly above the ground-surface of the hoof. Therefore, when a horse _at rest_ stands firmly on all four feet, _the fore-leg_ viewed from the side, _has a normal_ (regular) _direction, when a perpendicular line dropped from the tuberosity of the acromian spine passes through the middle of the elbow joint and meets the ground near the middle of the hoof_. From this normal or regular standing position, there are _deviations forward_ as well as _backward_. =Forward Deviations.=—“_Standing in front_” or “_camped in front_” (Fig. 50) is that position in which the entire leg from the body to the ground is placed too far forward. _Sheep-kneed_ (Fig. 51) is that position in which the forward deviation is from the knee downward, the knee being placed too far under the body. “_Weak-jointed_,” “_low-jointed_,” or “_acute-angled_” (Fig. 52) is that position in which the limbs are perpendicular and straight down as far as the fetlock-joint, but the feet are placed too far in front. [Illustration: FIG. 53. Standing under.] [Illustration: FIG. 54. Knee-sprung.] =Backward Deviations.=—_Standing under in front_ (Fig. 53) is that deviation in which the entire leg from the elbow down is placed back of the perpendicular line and, therefore, too far under the body. When this deviation affects only the cannon bone, the horse stands bent forward at the knees,—a condition known as “_goat-kneed_,” “_buck-kneed_,” “_over in the knees_,” or, more commonly, “_knee-sprung_” (Fig. 54). When the backward deviation is only from the fetlock down, the animal is said to stand _upright_ or “_straight in the fetlock_.”