24 



ANIMAL MANAGEMENT. 



The best 

 type of 

 neck. 



A ewe 

 neck. 



A bull 

 neck. 



A "cock- 

 throttled " 

 or ♦ ' swan- 

 necked " 

 horse. 



The mane 



and 



forelock. 



The 

 withers. 



The best type of neck for saddle horses, combining sufficient length and 

 strength with graceful carriage, lightness and good set on of head, is 

 most often seen in the Arab, hunter and racehorse, whilst the typical 

 heavy draught neck may be seen in the Shire and the Clydesdale. 



A ewe neck is one in which the curve is the wrong way, the same 

 shape as that of the sheep. With this variety, the head is set on at an 

 angle which is too horizontal, and consequently when going the animal 

 pokes out the muzzle and looks upwards ("a star gazer"), rendering 

 control difficult unless a standing martingale is worn. 



A bull neck is short, thick and bulky, very strong but not very flexible, 

 often carried in a more or less horizontal position, and associated 

 with the habit of " boring," i.e.^ leaning the weight of the head and neck 

 constantly on the bit. 



A " cock-throttled^'' or '■^ swan-fiecked" horse is one which has a neck 

 like a fowl. The set on of the head maybe good and the commencement 

 of the curve of the neck correct, but towards the lower part it tends 

 to become ewe-necked. With this formation the head is held high : if 

 accentuated is a very unpleasant conformation to ride, though in a slight 

 degree only it occasions no inconvenience. 



The 77iajie a?id forelock is not very voluminous in thoroughbred 

 animals ; and composed of perfectly straight hair which lies to one side or 

 other of the neck, in heavy, and especially under-bred heavy horses, it is 

 very plentiful, the hair having a tendency to get wavy or curly, and some- 

 times it divides down the centre and falls both sides of the neck. 



The withers commence from the dip where the neck ends, and rising 

 slightly over the tops of the shoulder blades, slope away into the back. 

 The rise of the withers is formed by the long spines which, in this 

 situation, project upwards from the bones of the back, and as they are 

 immediately under the skin they are particularly liable to injury by any 

 pressure upon them from above. The truly formed wither for a riding 

 horse should be of medium height only and neither too narrow or fine, 

 nor too thick ; a moderate height being essential to afford surface for the 

 attachment of the upward prolongation of the shoulder blades and their 

 covering muscles. Very high withers are generally too " fine," or narrow, 

 and are not only more liable to injury from the saddle by reason of their 

 actual height, but their narrowness renders this injury more likely, owing 

 to the want of sufficient widlh to support the saddle, which is a very 

 serious matter in the troop horse. Low, thick withers are undesirable for 

 riding horses, and though some Arabs and ponies, must be exempted from 

 the criticism they are usually found in types which are more intended for 

 draught than saddle. 



