The chest should girth over 30 inches in a 24-inch Hound, and back ribs to be deep. The back and the loin both ought to be very muscular, running into each other without any contraction (waist) or nipping between them.
The couples must be wide even to raggedness, and there should be the slightest arch in the loin, so as to be scarcely perceptible.
The hind-quarters, or propellers, are required to be very strong, and as endurance is of even more consequence than speed, straight stifles are preferred to those much bent, as in the Greyhound.
Elbows set quite straight, neither turned in nor out, are a sine qua non. They must be well let down by means of the long true arm previously mentioned.
Every Master of Foxhounds insists on legs as straight as an arrow and very strong; size of bone at knees and stifles being specially regarded as important.
Not much attention is paid to colour and coat, so long as of good Hound colour, and the latter short, dense, hard and glossy. Typical Hound colours are: black, white and tan (tricolour), black and white and the various "pies," compounded of white and the colours of the hare and badger, or yellow and tan.
In some old strains the "blue mottle" of the Southern Hound is still preserved. The stern is gently arched, coming gaily over the back and slightly fringed with hair below. It should taper to a point. The symmetry of the Foxhound is considerable, and what is called "quality" is highly regarded by all Hound judges. Dogs ought to weigh 70 to 80 lbs. and bitches from 60 to 70 lbs.
As to height, this varies in accordance with the country over which the Hounds have to hunt. From 22 up to 26 inches, but between these heights is general.
It is a very old custom to crop the young Hounds' ears with scissors, the operation being known as "rounding". It is done with the object of preventing the ears from becoming lacerated by briars, etc.