178 THE HORSE 



show alertness by being frequently in motion, especially if 

 first one and then the other is moved forwards and back- 

 wards ; but there should be no restlessness about the 

 movement, or the animal will probably turn out fidgety 

 and excitable, and such do not make brilliant performers. 

 They are too apt to dash uncontrollably forward, not looking 

 where they are going, and then when the pinch comes they 

 are found to have exhausted their powers prematurely. A 

 lop-eared animal is most usually a placid-tempered one, 

 often a good stayer, usually of a generous disposition, but 

 sometimes a little bit inclined to be sluggish. A horse with 

 a little small prick-ear has invariably a "temper" of some 

 description. It may be only that it pulls tremendously 

 hard, but it may be vice. Such horses are apt to be 

 ungenerous in their work, to shy, refuse, or shut up in a 

 race when collared. If the animal is pig-eyed as well it is 

 better to look the other way when the horse is up for 

 auction, and the auctioneer endeavours to tempt you 

 into a bid ! 



The angle of the jaws must be wide, to admit of freedom 

 for the windpipe, and to allow the horse to bend his neck 

 properly to the bit. The upper lip should be rather long, 

 with a correspondingly long slit for the nostril when in 

 repose, which will dilate into a large bold orifice when 

 the horse is excited by a gallop, and the blood-vessels glisten 

 scarlet under the skin. The neck should be carried well up, 

 with a becoming arch, the withers be well defined. The 

 shoulders should have a well-marked slope, and be deep ; 

 while the points should not show through the skin when 

 the horse is in motion, though at the same time they should 

 be thick through, giving promise of sustaining weight. 

 Apropos of this subject, William Osmer, who wrote an 

 admirable treatise on the horse in 1756, remarks : — 



"Add to this there is another advantage obtained to the 

 Horse besides velocity, by the declivity of the shoulders, 

 for his weight is removed farther back, and placed more in 

 the centre of his body, by which an equilibrium is acquired, 

 and every muscle bears a more equal share of weight and 

 action ; so that the nearer the articulation of the quarters 



