That's strictly between you and me, now mind! "And you know that old idiot, Potts, was trying to joke me because the horse was sprung in the knees, as if that was not the very thing that made me resolve to have that horse if I ran him up to five hundred dollars! You are a young man with no experience in the world, and I'll tell you why I like such legs: They give the horse more leverage.

Do you see?
When a horse's leg is straight, the more he bears on it, the more likely he is to fracture the bone.

But you curve that leg a little to the front, and the upper bone bears obliquely on the lower bone, the pressure is distributed and the horse has plenty of purchase.

It is the well-known principle of the arch, you know.

If it's good in building a house, why isn't it good in getting up a horse?
Sprung in the knees! Why, good gracious, man! a horse that is not sprung is not any horse at all; he is only fit for soap-fat and glue.