196 THE ANATOMY 



CHAPTER X. 



THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH. 



"We now proceed to a description of the face, or lower part of the head of 

 the Horse. The nasal hones, or bones of the nose (j j, p. 145), are con- 

 nected with the frontal bones above, and with the lachi'yinal, i i, and 

 the bones of the upper jaw, I I, on either side. They are united together 

 by a plain suture, which is a continuation of the frontal, and they ter- 

 minate in a point at the nostril (p, p. 145). They are rounded and arched 

 above, because they are exposed to occasional \T.olence and injurj^, which 

 the arch-form will enable them best to resist ; and at the base of the arch, 

 where the main strength should be, they are overlapped by the upper jaw- 

 bone, as the temporal bone ovei'laps the base of the parietal. These bones 

 form a principal part of the face ; and the length or shortness, and the 

 character of the face, depend upon them. Sometimes there is an appear- 

 ance of two little arches, with a depression between them along the 

 sutures. This is often found in the blood-horse, with his comparatively 

 broad head and face. The single elevated arch is found in the long and 

 narrow face of the heavy draught-horse. 



The nasal bones pursue their course down the face, in some horses in a 

 straight line— in others, there is a slight prominence towards the upper 

 part, while in a considerable number, a depression is observed a little 

 lower do^vn. Some persons have imagined that this deviation iu the line 

 of the face affords an indication of the temper of the animal, and there 

 may be a little truth in this. The horse with a straight profile may be 

 good or bad tempered, but not often either to any great excess. The one 

 with the prominent Roman nose will generally be an easy, good-temjDered 

 kind of beast — hardy — ready enough to feed, not always, perhaps, so 

 ready to work, but may be made to do his duty without any cruel urging, 

 and having no extraordinary pretension to speed or blood. On the other 

 hand, a depression across the centre of the nose generally indicates some 

 breedino-, especially if the head is small, but occasionally accompanied by 

 a vicious, uncontrollable disposition. 



There is another way, however, in which the nasal bones do more 

 certainly indicate the breed, viz., by their comparative length or shortness. 

 There is no surer criterion of a well-bred horse, than a broad angular 

 forehead, prominent features, and a short face ; nor of a horse with Httle 

 breeding, than a nan-ow forehead, small features, and lengthened nose. 

 The comparative development of the head and face indicates, with little 

 error, the preponderance of the animal or intellectual principle. 



These bones form the roof of an important cavity — the nasal cavity, as 

 shown in the cut (a, a, p. 197). The sides are constituted above by the 

 nasal bones, and, lower down, by the upper jaAvbones (siqyerior maxillaries), 

 while plates from these latter bones project and compose the palate, which 

 is both the floor of the nose and the roof of the mouth (b, b). Above is 

 a bone called the palatme (c), although it contributes very Httle to the 

 formation of the palate. J t is the termination of the palate, or the border 

 of the opening where the cavities of the mouth and- nose meet. The 

 frontal sinuses and large vacuities in the upper jaw-bone, and in the 

 ^ethmoid and sphenoid bones, communicate with and enlarge the cavity 

 of the nose. 



