42 



CONFORMATION AND ITS DEFECTS 



>««s. 



Fig. 35. — Forehead prominent between tlie Eyes 



of which, says Captain Hayes in his excellent work on The Points of the 



Horse, "I have seen verified in many instances". 



Ears. — Besides the special function for which they are designed, 



the ears are not only an element of 



beauty, but by their movements 



serve to indicate the emotions and 



temperament of the animal. Their 



effectiveness as a mark of beauty 



will be influenced very much by the 



transverse diameter of the poll, and 



the manner in which they are set 



on, as well as by their form, dimen- 

 sions, and carriage. 



When well set apart on a fairly 



broad crest and carried with a gentle 



inclination forward without being 



either upright and staring, or too dependent and heavy, they set off a 



well-formed head to the greatest advantage. As to length, connoisseurs 



are not exactly in agreement, some 

 extolling the excellence of short 

 ears, and others of long ones. There 

 can be no doul)t, however, that 

 with this, as with all other organs, 

 they must be in harmony with 

 related parts. A long head with 

 short ears is as unsiohtlv as when 

 the proportions are reversed, and 

 the disfigurement is materially 

 added to in either case where they 

 present a broad, thick, fleshy char- 

 acter and an investment of coarse 

 hair. Ears of medium length and 

 width, thin, flexible, neither too 

 pointed nor too rounded at the 

 tip, well set up on a good l)ase, 

 active and alert, are not only 



marks of good breeding, but impart to the fiice an expression of lightness, 



brightness, and intelligence. 



In most horses the temperament finds expression in the movements 



and disposition of these organs. In the nervous and excitable they are 



ever erect and respond to every sound, moving vigorously from one 



Fig. 3G. — Lung Ears 



