SKELETON.] 



:M0J)K1{\ VETEIUNARV I' K A (" 1' K" i:. 



[hkeleton. 



raan of twenty ; a horse of ten years, as a man 

 of forty ; a horse of tifteeu, as a man of fifty ; 

 a liorso of twenty, as a nmu of sixty ; of twenty- 

 live, as a man of seventy ; of thirty, as a man of 

 ciglity ; and of thirty-five, as a man of ninety. 

 So far from this comparison being too mucli in 

 favour of the horse, we are disposed to think 

 it too little so. Horses of thirty-five years of 

 age are as common as men of ninety, provided 

 it be taken into the account that there are, at 

 least, fifty human subjects to every horse ; and 

 unquestionably, a horse of forty-five is less rare 

 than a man of one hundred and ten." 



In enumerating tlie qualities to bo attended 

 to in the purchase of a horse, Professor Stew- 

 art gives the following summary : — 



The Head. — For the eyes; for cataract, 

 glass eyes, and specks. The nostrils ; for glan- 

 ders, tumours, and cold. The glands between 

 the branches of the lower jaw ; for enlarge- 

 ment. The throat; for mark of crib-biting 

 strap, and the tenderness which accompanies 

 cold. The teeth ; for the age and marks of 

 crib-biting. The veins of the neck ; to see that 

 both are entire. 



The Fore Leg axd Shouldee. — The seat 

 of the collar ; for tumours. The point of the 

 elbow ; for tumours. The knee ; for blemishes 

 and stiffness of that joint. The shank ; for 

 speed-cut, splint, and strain. The fetlock-joint ; 

 for enlargement, mud-galls, neurotomy, string- 



halt, and marks of cutting. Tho pastern ; fur 

 ringbone. 



The Foot. — For side-bones; sand-crack, con- 

 traction, thrush, corns, and Qat- solos. Tho 

 shoe; for signs of cutting. 



The Tuunk QuAurKus. — Eacli side of tho 

 chest ; for marks of blisters and rowels. Tljo 

 space between the fore legs ; for the same. 

 The stifle ; for enlargement. Tho groin ; for 

 rupture. 



TuE Hock. — For capped-hoi-k ; thorough- 

 pin, bone-spavin, and bog-spaviu — not blood- 

 spavin. Then the horse should be mounted 

 and ridden a few hundred yards at a gallop, in 

 order to quicken his breathing, and thereby 

 display the presence or absence of roaring, 

 thick wind, or broken wind. 



As to the prices to be given for certain 

 horses, Lord "William Lennox says, that a 

 hunter of the best description, if in a dealer's 

 possession, should be about £loO, the odd £50 

 to be more or less as the horse appears to be 

 worth it. A strong and likely hack, £10 to 

 £00. No more should be given for this sort 

 of animal, as good ones can always be got at 

 that price. A horse for general work — that is, 

 either for the field or in harness, £G0 to £S0, 

 a little more or a little less, in accordance w ith 

 the apparent qualities of the animal. From 

 these prices, he says, "you must resolve not to 

 deviate easily." 



CHAPTER IX. 



SKELETON OF THE HOKSE ; HIS ZOOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION'. 



Iw his Introduction to his great work on Na- 

 tural History, Buflbu remarks, that it is only 

 by comparing that we can judge ; and our know- 

 ledge turns entirely on the relations that things 

 bear to those which resemble them, and to those 

 which differ from them ; so if there were no 

 animals, the nature of man would be far more 

 incomprehensible than it is. The truth of this 

 is made at every step we take in the science of 

 comparative anatomy, which, from time to time, 



has revealed the most unanticipated wondera 

 relative to the most extraordinary resemblances 

 in the structure of animals perfectly distinct. 

 For example: who would, beforehand, expect 

 that the same bones would be found in the 

 horse as in the seal? Yet a comparison of 

 their skeletons demonstrates this to be tho case 

 to a very great degree. Of all animals, the 

 rhinoceros, rather than the camel or tlie dro- 

 medary, has the nearest affinity to tlie horse; 



173 



