40 



CONFOEMATION AND ITS DEFECTS 



Fig. 31.— Straight Face (Arab Stallion) 



Viewed in profile, the face from the forehead downward will be found 

 to vary very considerably. In the thoroughbred and the Arab it is 

 usually straiglit or inclining to hoUowness beneath the eyes (fig. 31, 

 and Plate V); while in the 

 coarser breeds the disposition 

 to convexity is more and more 

 noticeable as we approach the 

 heavy draught-horse. As both 

 these formations are quite con- 

 sistent with the most perfect 

 physiological activity of the 

 cranial and respiratory organs, 

 any preference that may be 

 given to one over the other 

 can only be regarded as a mat- 

 ter of taste, and not as having 

 any intrinsic value; for our own 

 part we prefer that the line of 

 the face, when viewed in profile, 

 should be neither uniformly straight nor convex, but commencing above 

 in a bold forehead, should gently recede in its course downward, and 

 again rise to slight convexity over the lower region of the nose, giving to 



this aspect of the head a gentle and 

 graceful undulation (fig. 32). 



While making observation in 

 profile it is requisite to note that the 

 ])ranches of the lower jaw should 

 be broad and deep, since they give 

 attachment both within and without 

 to the most powerful of the muscles 

 of mastication. Moreover, viewed 

 from behind they should be set well 

 apart and clear of the neck, so that 

 the larynx or upper portion of the 

 windpipe, which is situated between 

 them, as well as the pllar^■nx or throat, may have ample space in which 

 to move while the head is being bent, or turned sharply from side to 

 side. 



Undue narrowness of this region, when occurring in horses with short, 

 fleshy necks, tends to emltarrass breathing, especially when the animal is 

 tightly reined up. In some high-couraged and nervous animals of this 



Fig. 32.— Undulating Face 



