THE MULTIPLE ORIGIN OF HORSES AND PONIES. 453 



itself ill tlif (nil: (here arc stripes on (he neck and faint stripes ex- 

 tend a short dis(aii('e from (he dorsal band across the hody, as in the 

 British Mnseuin ({iia«ga, while the legs, es[)e('ially in the region of the 

 "knees" and hocks, are marked by distinct bars. 



The ears ara short and are carried in a nearly upright posilion; 

 (he forehead (which is not particularly wide), in having two ridges 

 extending upward from the prominent eyes to meet under the fore- 

 lock, differs greatly from the " bumpy " forehead of Prjevalsky's 

 horse and the flat forehead of the Celtic pony. The space between 

 (he orbit and the nostril is relatively longer than in the Celtic pony, 

 but shor(er (ban in Prjevalsky's horse. The eyes project beyond the 

 level of (he forehead. In the Celtic pony the eyes are large and 

 adapted for a wide range; in the wild horse they are some distance 

 from the front of the head ; in the Norse horse thev are small and 

 look downward rather than forward. The outline of the face be- 

 comes convex above the muzzle and ends in a somewhat long upper 

 lip, adapted, like the upper lip in the giratfe, for feeding on leaves 

 and twigs. In the neck and shoulders, trunk and limbs, the Norse 

 variety may be said to resemble a small cart horse of the Suffolk type. 



Compared with the wild horse, the withers are lower and the hind 

 quarters more rounded, and the tail springs more abruptly and at a 

 lower level, and hence fails to convey the impression that it is a 

 (hrect continuation of the trunk. The dock is relatively longer than 

 in the Celtic pony, but shorter than in the wild horse. The limbs are 

 short, but the joints are large and the hoofs fairly broad; hence in a 

 side view of the foreleg a considerable increase is noticed as the 

 thick fetlock joint is reached. 



It will be evident from Avhat has been said that the Norse horse 

 differs chiefly from the Avild Gobi horse in being of a darker dun 

 color, in being far more richh^ striped, in the shape of the head, size 

 of the ears, position of the eyes, and also in the muzzle, mane, tail, 

 hind quarters, joints, and hoofs. From the Celtic pony the Norse 

 horse also differs in the color and markings; but it especially differs 

 in the tail and in the greater proportional length of the distance be- 

 tween the eye and the nostril, and in having a complete set of ergots 

 and chestnuts. It is inconceivable that (he Norse variety could revert 

 to the Prjevalsky horse type, or be regarded as an offshoot from the 

 Celtic pou}'. 



The question may now be asked, Is there any evidence that the 

 Pala^oliths of the south of Europe were familiar with horses of the 

 Norse type ? Figure 2, plate ii, gives an imperfect idea of a specimen 

 of the Norse race from the west of Ross-shire. If this figure of a 

 horse still living is compared with figure 2, which faithfully repro- 

 duces an engraving made thousands of years ago in the Combarelles 



