SIZE OF HEAD. 193 



is I to 2.5 ; in St. Simon, i to 2.48 ; in Cheadle Jumbo, 

 I to 2.6; and in Chance, i to 2.7. Here, possibly to our 

 surprise, we perceive that the cart-horses have compara- 

 tively smaller heads than the racers — a difference which, 

 no doubt, is due to their grosser " condition " ; as the 

 fat on their chests and quarters must add slightly to 

 their length of body. Bourgelat, followed by all, or 

 nearly all, the French writers on equine conformation, 

 adopted the length of a horse's head as a measurement 

 of the animal's height, in the proportion of i to 2J. 

 This eminent Frenchman based his calculations on a 

 type of horse (such as the ordinary saddle nag) which 

 was about as high at the withers as it was long in the 

 body, and did not take into consideration the great dif- 

 ferences between the respective heights and lengths of 

 animals of various classes, ranging from the racer to the 

 Shire horse. 



The fact that the size of the head of a horse is 

 proportionate to his length of body, and not to his height 

 at the withers, accounts for cart-horses appearing to 

 have a comparatively larger head than thorough-breds. 



Leanness of Head. — In the lighter classes of horses, 

 the head should present a general appearance of " lean- 

 ness," that is to say, the skin which covers it should be 

 fine ; its bony prominences sharply marked ; and the 

 muscles, blood-vessels, and nerves which are immediately 

 under the skin, more or less clearly defined. 



The absence, thus indicated, of an excess of loose 

 underlying tissue will suggest the possession of strength 

 of muscle and bone (p. 32). When the head is large and 

 " fleshy," we may generally assume that the animal is 

 " soft " and wanting in " blood." The presence on the 

 head of well-developed muscles, of which those of mastica- 

 tion are the most powerful, will naturally suggest to the 

 observer that the horse has a good constitution. As 

 pointed out by Goubaux and Barrier, we must not mis- 



13 



