EXTERNAL STRUCTURE. 77 



and the current flows on. They surround the very minutest vessels, and 

 the frame is nourished and built up. They are destitute of sensation, and 

 they are perfectly beyond the control of the will. 



The reader, we trust, will now comprehend this wonderful, yet simple 

 machinery, and be able, by and by, to refer to it the explanation of several 

 diseases, and particularly of the operation to which we have referred. 



Two of the senses have their residence in the bones of the cranium, those 

 of hearing and sight. 



They who know any thing of the horse pay much attention to the size, 

 setting on, and motion of the ear. Ears rather small than large, placed not 

 too far apart, and erect, and quick in motion, indicate both breeding and 

 spirit ; and if a horse is frequently in the habit of carrying one ear forward, 

 and the other backward, and especially if he does so on a journey, he will 

 generally possess both spirit and continuance. The stretching of the ears 

 in a contrary direction shows that he is attentive to every thing that is taking 

 place around him, and, while he is doing this, he cannot be much fatigued, 

 or likely soon to become so. It has been remarked that few horses sleep 

 without pointing one ear forward and the other backward, that they may 

 receive notice of the approach of objects in every direction.* 



The ear of the horse is one of the most beautiful parts about him, and 

 by few things is the temper more surely indicated than by its motion. The 

 ear is more intelligible even than the eye, and a person accustomed to the 

 horse, and an observer of the horse, can tell by the expressive motion of the 

 ears almost all that he thinks or means. It is a common saying that when 

 a horse lays his ears flat back upon his neck, and keeps them so, he most 

 assuredly is meditating mischief, and the stander-by should beware of his 

 heels or his teeth. In play the ears will be laid back, but not so decidedly, 

 nor so long. A quick change in their position, and more particularly the 

 expression of the eye at the time, will distinguish between playfulness and 

 vice. 



The external ear is formed by a cartilage of an oval or cone-like shape, 

 flexible, yet firm, and terminating in a point. It has, directed towards the 

 side, yet somewhat pointing forward, a large opening, extending from the 

 top to the bottom. The intention of this is to collect the sound, and convey 

 it to the interior part of the ear. 



The hearing of the horse is remarkably acute. A thousand vibrations 

 of the air, too slight to make any impression on the human ear, are readily 

 perceived by him. It is well known to every hunting-man, that the cry of 

 the hounds will be recognised by the horse, and his ears will be erect, and 

 he will be all spirit and impatience, a considerable time before the rider is 

 conscious of the least sound. Need anything more be said to expose the 

 absurdity of cropping ? Fortunately for this too-often abused animal, crop- 

 ping is not now the fashion. Some thoughtless or unfeeling young men 

 endeavoured, a little while ago, to introduce it, but the voice of reason and 

 humanity prevailed. 



This cartilage, the conch or shell, is attached to the head by ligaments, 

 and sustained by muscles, on which its action depends. It rests upon 

 another cartilage, round without and irregular within, called the annular, 

 -mg-like, cartilage, and conducting to the interior of the ear ; and it is 



• " When horses or mules march in company at nig-ht, those in front direct their ears 

 forward ; those in the rear direct them backward ; and those in the centre direct them 

 laterally c across; the whole troop seeming: thus to be actuated by one feeling, which 

 watches the general safety." — Ahnott's Elements of Physics, vol. i. p. 478. 



