THE ANATOMY OF THE HORSE. 55 



The skeleton, as shown in the engraving, may be divided as follows : 

 1 — Cranium, or Head. 2 — Cervical vertebrae, or bones of the neck. 

 3 — Dorsal vertebroe, or bones of the withers and back. 4 — Lumbal 

 vertebrae, or those of the loin between the false ribs and the upper edge 

 of the Haunch "Bone. 5 — Sacral vertebrae, or those of the rump, or 

 lying between the haunch bone and tail. 6 — Caudal vertebrae, or bones 

 of the tail. An observation of the dotted lines will show these correctly. 

 7 — The Ribs, showing their coiTect position. 8 — Sternum, or the breast 

 bone. 9 — Scapula, or shoulder bone. 10 — The front limbs. 11 — The 

 Pelvis, the cavity of the body formed by the union of the haunch bones 

 with those of the back and hip, and formed by the Sacrum at the top, 

 the Ilium at the sides, the Ischium and the Pubis at the bottom. 12 

 — The hind limbs. 



m. Divisions of the Several Parts. 



Thus we have given the entire skeleton of the horse, showing the bones 

 as they appear in their natural positions and relations to each other. We 

 next proceed to a more detailed study of the several parts. 



The Head and Back Bones. — The head may be divided into two parts, 

 the skull and the face, each having its jDarticular bones, the variation of 

 which may affect the proper grinding of the food and thereby influence 

 the general condition of the animal, to say nothing of the relation be- 

 tween the shape of these bones and the horse's intelligence. The verte- 

 brae are divided into five groups, of which the Cervical or neck, contains 

 seven bones ; the back, or Dorsal, eighteen ; and the Lumbar, six. The 

 Lumbar vertebrae really belong to the back, and added to the eighteen 

 Dorsals, make a total of twenty-four. The Sacral vertebrae are five in 

 number, and the Caudal fifteen, making a grand total of fifty-one verte- 

 brae in the animal. 



The Ribs. — The ribs are eighteen in number and are jointed to the 

 transverse processes of the vertebrae, and curve, with some variations in 

 their outline and direction, down to the sternum. Seven or eight of them 

 are true ribs, and are composed of cartilage and attached to the breast 

 bone and to the vertebrae, to allow full expansion of the lungs in breath- 

 ing. Thus the spring of the ribs, as it is called, is most important to 

 the horseman. The remaining ribs are called false ribs. They are not 

 attached to the breast bone, but are united by cartilages, each on its own 

 side, the union terminating in the sternum. Thus, all the ribs act in con- 

 cert, giving play not only to the lungs, but also to other viscera. 



The Sternum. — The Stermum, or breast bone, in the young horse, is 

 composed of six bones, but in the fu!l grown animal these become uni- 

 ted into a single piece. The front of this bone is convex and sharply 



