FOURTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VI. 361 



majority of instances. It is so with horses to a certain degree. For in- 

 stance one comes to the conclusion that a work horse is obstinate if the 

 profile is bold and of Roman conformation. He says when he sees too 

 much "white" in the eye, "Look out! He's unruly or a runaway." Then, 

 too, we judge when the ears are drooping that the horse is either a 

 "dummy" from brain trouble or a "loafer" from constitutional "weari- 

 ness" and dislike for work. If, on the other hand, the ears are set and 

 no attention is paid to sound we conclude that the animal is deaf or if 

 the ears are constantly on the move we suspect that the eyes are at 

 fault. Coming to the close examination of the head we like to see 

 breadth between the eyes as an indication of brains and intelligence. 

 Your narrow-browed, long-visaged horse is a weak, silly beast and usually 

 lacks stamina for work and to withstand exposure. It is so surely if his 

 nostrils are small and tightly shut. On the other hand, wide, clean, thin, 

 flexible, dilated nostrils bespeak vigor, vim, "staying" powers and good 

 lung development. With the lazy disposition we are apt to find a flabby, 

 hanging lower lip, meatiness of face, dull, or shrunken eyes and eyelids 

 and general coarseness of conformation. In the horse of quality, be he 

 of light or heavy breed, the muzzle is fine, lips firmly shut, face lean and 

 clean-cut and eyes bright, prominent and alert. 'In the latter horse, too, 

 the ear, like the eye, is alert, fine in texture, pointed and erect. If the 

 ears are held back during examination look out for meanness or vice; 

 they should when erect form a practically straight line with the face, 

 but in mares there is a slight tendency to dish face and in stallion, to 

 the opposite conformation. 



Let us get back to the eye. While it should be bright, that bright- 

 ness may be due to "amaurosis" or paralysis of the optic nerve, causing 

 incurable blindness. When a horse suffering from this disease is led 

 from a dark place into the light the pupil of the eye does not become 

 less. In a sound eye the pupil should dilate in the dark and contract 

 in the light and have an elliptical shape. In amaurosis and cataract or 

 blindness from periodic opthalmia the pupil retains a spherical contour. 

 In such cases, too, the eyelids are seen to be wrinkled, and the orifice of 

 the eye less than in health. The latter signs of unsoundness are of great 

 importance, seeing that they are indications of a former attack or two of 

 periodic opthalmia (moon blindness) which comes and goes until it 

 finally causes total blindness of one or both eyes. Where the disease has 

 run its course the eye appears to be milky in color and any trace of 

 scum on the eyeball may be considered suspicious. Look, too, at the 

 inner can thus or corner of the eye and seo that there is no enlargement 

 of the "haw" (membrana nictitans) or running of tears over the face, as 

 this may indicate obliteration or stoppage of the lacrimal duct, the cause 

 of no end of trouble during hot weather and fly time. Stand in front of 

 the horse and note the contour of the head below the eyes. In this posi- 

 tion it is easy to notice bulging of one or both sides, denoting trouble in 

 teething in young colts, the presence of ^ diseased molar or chronic 

 catarrh in older horses, or "big head" (osteoporosis) in cases where 

 the teeth are not at fault and where there is found a thickened condi- 

 tion of the bones of one of the lower jaws as compared with the other. 



