OF HORSEMANSHIP. 83 



" to be the firil to plunge into it j adding, that his 

 " Head fliould be fmall ; his Liinbs clean and compact ; 

 -" his Eyes bright and fparkling ; his No/ri/s open and 

 " large ; his Ears placed near each other ; his Alane 

 " ftrong and full ; his Cheji broad ; his Shoulders flat and 

 " floping backward ; his Barrel round, compacft, and 

 " rather fmall ; his Lcins broad and flrong ; his 'Tail full 

 " andbufhy ; his Legsi\rd.it and even j his Kjiees round, 

 " and well knit ; his Hoofs hard and tough, and his 

 " reins large, and fwelling boldly through all his 

 *' body." 



The Geopontick writers alfo, the Rei Rufticce Scn'ptores, 

 Xenophon, Pliny, and many others, who have written 

 exprefly upon the fubje6l, defcribe the parts and figure 

 of the horfe with the greatell judgment and accuracy: 

 to thefe we may add the harmonious writers of verfe, 

 Oppian, Statius, Claudian, Gratian, Nemejian, Sec. who, ar- 

 raying Truth in the beautiful robes of poetry, celebrate 

 the horfe, and point out his character and talents, 

 with all the fidelity and exadnefs, that can be expe(5l- 

 ed from the coldell profe. 



Pliny tells us, that if an horfe in drinking plunged 

 his nofe deep into the water, it was reckoned a fign of 

 fpirit and courage; and this notion prevails gtprefent 

 in this country. 



Like the Armenians, the Romans always turned the 

 mane on the right fide. Varro and Virgil direcH: it fo 

 to be placed. Propertius * likev?-ife mentions it. 



* Propertius, lib. iv. eleg. 4. 



M 2 Ilk 



