INTRODUCTION. 



When measurements of the skull of a Shire horse (of e.g. the 

 skull of " Starlight " preserved in the British Museum) are com- 

 pared with measurements of Steppe, Forest and Plateau skulls, it is 

 at once obvious that in its skull a Shire horse may very closely 

 agree with Prjevalsky's horse. When, however, the limbs of a Shire 

 horse are studied it is seen that they are constructed on the lines 

 of the Forest type. Hence it may be inferred that Shires are 

 mainly a blend of the Steppe and Forest varieties, i.e., that they 

 have in part sprung from ancestors allied to, if not identical, with 



Photo fty] lM. h. h. 



Fig. 6. — A yearling Prjevalsky stallion in summer coat. Note 



the long ears, very long face, slender limbs, and absence of a forelock. 



(From Hayes' " Points of the Horse.") 



Prjevalsky's horse. An examination of the skull of an Arab (of 

 e.g. "Jerboa" in the British Museum) may show that it is nearly 

 identical with the skull of a typical Plateau horse. When, how- 

 ever, measurements are made of the skeleton of the thoroughbred 

 '' Stockwell " (also in the British Museum) it is found that, while in 

 his skull "Stockwell" agrees closely with Prjevalsky's horse and 

 differs from the Arab " Jerboa," he has limbs of the Plateau type. 



