48 THE AMERICAN BLOOD- HOUSE. . 



about tlie jaw, yet with a full development of forehead, which 

 should be convex and wide, so as to contain within the skull 

 a good volume of brain. If this fullness exist, all the rest of 

 the head may be as fine as possible ; the jav/s being reduced to 

 a fin^ muzzle, with a slight hollowing out in front, but with a 

 width between the two sides of the lower jaw where it joins 

 the neck, so as to allow plenty of room for the top of the 

 windpipe when the neck is bent. The ears should be pricked 

 and fine, but not too short ; eyes full and spirited ; nostrils 

 large, and capable of being well dilated when at full speed, 

 which is easily tested by the gallop, after which they ought to 

 stand out firmly, and so as to show the internal lining fully. 

 The neck should be muscular, and yet light; the windpipe 

 loose and separate from the neck, — that is, not too tightly 

 bound down by the membrane of the neck. The crest should 

 be thin and wiry, not thick and loaded, as is often seen in 

 coarse stallions, or even in some mares. 



Between the two extremes of the ewe-neck and its opposite, 

 there are many degrees, but for racing purposes the former 

 is preferable of the two, to the latter ; for few horses can go 

 well with their necks bent so as to draw the chin to the bosom ; 

 yet here, as in other cases, the happy medium between the 

 two extremes is the most desirable. 



The body, or middle-piece, should be moderately long, and 

 not too much confined between the last rib and the hip bone. 

 So long as the last or back-ribs are deep, it is not of so much 

 importance that they should be closely connected to the hip- 

 bone, for such a shape shortens the stride ; and though it 

 enables the horse to carry a great weight, yet it prevents him 

 from attaining a high rate of speed. The back itself should 



