24 THE HORSE 



a peculiar, flurried, unsettled expression of the eye. 

 Avoid most of all the horse with a small, sunken eye, 

 for he is apt to be vicious and stupid. He is even 

 more to be shunned than the hprse that shows the 

 white of his eye. A coarse, heavy eyelid is also an 

 indication of a bad, or at least unpleasant, disposition. 

 Intelligence is even more important than a good dis- 

 position. A vicious, intelligent horse may easily be 

 improved, and usually can be reformed by kind 

 treatment. Sugar, apples, and firm but gentle handling 

 will work wonders with such horses; but very little 

 improvement can be made in a horse naturally stupid. 



The brain of a horse is contained in the space be- 

 tween his ears and his eyes. Therefore look for a 

 horse who is wide between his ears, and especially 

 between the eyes, and who is also long from the root 

 of the ear to the eye. A horse wide between the eyes, 

 but noticeably short from ear to eye, will show some 

 lack of sense. The ears can hardly be too far apart 

 except that a horse unusually wide between the ears 

 is apt to be lazy. A horse with a narrow head is the 

 least intelligent, and therefore the most dangerous of 

 horses. 



The ears are Important. Look for a well-shaped 

 ear, and if it be finely cut no matter if it is somewhat 

 long. Many trotting-bred horses have long ears, but 

 they are well-shaped. A short, stubby ear, a "mouse 

 ear," as horsemen call it, is the mark of a stupid or 

 flighty animal. When the ears are pricked forward 

 at an unusual angle, so as to have a drooping look, you 

 may be sure that the horse Is a timid one. The nearer 



