36 



CONFORMATION AND ITS DEFECTS 



HEAD AND NECK 



If there is any part of the horse which can be regarded as of exceptional 

 importance it is the head, for besides being the centre of intelligence, 

 it is also the seat of vice. Moreover, it is the dial-plate on which we 

 find the outward expression of the inward temperament in all its varied 

 moods. It forms, besides, the boundary walls of the most important 

 cavities in the body, notably, the cranium or brain-case, the orbits 

 containing the eyes, the nostrils, and the mouth. From these considera- 

 tions it becomes obvious that if the several organs with which the head 

 is connected are to perform their respective functions efficiently, ample 

 space must l)e provided by the bony framework for their accommodation 

 and unrestrained action. Moreover, the head is not altogether uncon- 

 nected with locomotion, inasmuch as important muscles extending from 

 the arm upward along the neck are ultimately connected with it, and 

 are the chief agents in raising and advancing the fore-limbs during pro- 

 gression. Further, an extensive bony surface is required for the attach- 

 ment of the muscles of masti- 

 cation and expression. 



Quite apart from size, the 

 aspect of the head varies very 

 materially in difierent animals, 

 not only among those of dif- 

 ferent varieties, but in a less 

 degree also among different 

 animals of the same variety. 

 AVhile in some it presents a 

 clean-cut, finely-chiselled out- 

 line, in others the angles and 

 lines of the bony framework 

 are rounded off and more or 

 less obscured, and the head 

 as a whole displays a heavy, 

 plain appearance. The former, 

 distinguished as the lean head (fig. 26), is more especially pronounced in 

 the thoroughbred, and is always an evidence of good breeding. Here the 

 skin will be noticed to be thin, and closely adherent to underlying 

 parts. The bony outline is sharply defined. The muscles, vessels, and 

 nerves are seen standing out in bold relief, giving the head altogether 

 a clean, sharp expression and airy carriage. Quite the reverse is the case 



Fig. 





-Lean Head, well set on 



