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Old 01-30-2007, 04:16 AM   #34
SPUCK
Professor
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,911
What's sad is the continual press for faster horses. This means the breeding selects for thinner legs and smaller bones. The smaller and stiffer,(read brittle), the bones the faster the horse. And... the more often their legs will snap like a dry saltine. We will see this more and more often. It's what happens when we start selective breeding for one trait. Rather like Irish Setters that were bred for that classy look until they were utterly brainless.

Let me try to show this.
A modern cutting horse that has to be agile (turn a lot and quickly).


Poor Barbaro a thorobred bred for speed only. Notice the thin legs.
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