The whole of his body is inclosed
within a hide, a skin covered with hair; and if that hide or skin be
taken off, we find a great mass of flesh, or what is technically called
muscle, being the substance which by its power of contraction enables
the animal to move. These muscles move the hard parts one upon the
other, and so give that strength and power of motion which renders the
Horse so useful to us in the performance of those services in which we
employ him.
And then, on separating and removing the whole of this skin and flesh,
you have a great series of bones, hard structures, bound together with
ligaments, and forming the skeleton which is represented here.
[FIGURE 1. (Section through a horse.)
FIGURE 2. (Section through a cell.)]
In that skeleton there are a number of parts to be recognized. The
long series of bones, beginning from the skull and ending in the tail,
is called the spine, and those in front are the ribs; and then there
are two pairs of limbs, one before and one behind; and there are what
we all know as the fore-legs and the hind-legs.
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