In testing the feet the first thing to examine will be the horny portion of the hoof. For soundness of foot a thick horn is far better than a thin. Again it is important to notice whether the hoofs are high both before and behind, or flat to the ground; for a high hoof keeps the "frog," (6) as it is called, well off the ground; whereas a low hoof treads equally with the stoutest and softest part of the foot alike, the gait resembling that of a bandy-legged man. (7) "You may tell a good foot clearly by the ring," says Simon happily; (8) for the hollow hoof rings like a cymbal against the solid earth. (9) (6) Lit. "the swallow." (7) Al. "a knock-kneed person." See Stonehenge, "The Horse" (ed. 1892), pp. 3, 9. (8) Or, "and he is right." (9) Cf. Virg. "Georg." iii. 88; Hor. "Epod." xvi. 12. And now that we have begun with the feet, let us ascend from this point to the rest of the body. The bones (10) above the hoof and below the fetlock must not be too straight, like those of a goat; through not being properly elastic, (11) legs of this type will jar the rider, and are more liable to become inflamed. On the other hand, these bones must not be too low, or else the fetlock will be abraded or lacerated when the horse is galloped over clods and stones. (10) i.e. "the pasterns ({mesokunia}) and the coffin should be 'sloping.'" (11) Or, "being too inflexible." Lit. "giving blow for blow, overuch like anvil to hammer." The bones of the shanks (12) ought to be thick, being as they are the columns on which the body rests; thick in themselves, that is, not puffed out with veins or flesh; or else in riding over hard ground they will inevitably be surcharged with blood, and varicose conditions be set up, (13) the legs becoming thick and puffy, whilst the skin recedes; and with this loosening of the skin the back sinew (14) is very apt to start and render the horse lame. (12) i.e. "the metacarpals and metatarsals." (13) Or, "and become varicose, with the result that the shanks swell whilst the skin recedes from the bone." (14) Or, "suspensory ligament"? Possibly Xenophon's anatomy is wrong, and he mistook the back sinew for a bone like the fibula. The part in question might intelligibly enough, if not technically, be termed {perone}, being of the brooch-pin order. If the young horse in walking bends his knees flexibly, you may safely conjecture that when he comes to be ridden he will have flexible legs, since the quality of suppleness invariably increases with age. (15) Supple knees are highly esteemed and with good reason, rendering as they do the horse less liable to stumble or break down from fatigue than those of stiffer build. (15) Lit. "all horses bend their legs more flexibly as time advances."