246 THE HEAET AND LUNGS. 



in their movements, and often held long witliout motion. The 

 mnscles soft and flat, not standing out in defined rolls as in the 

 fibrous temperament. The sinews less wiry. The head dropped 

 low, the jaws large, the forehead narrow, the eyes not prominent 

 but mild, the temper easy. The old fashioned gummy legs, 

 narrow and shallow chest, and deep belly is now rarely seen. 



587. — The very nervous temperament is fast and showy, fit 

 for short excited exertion, careful management, and gentle usage, 

 but no nervous man or woman should venture on a very nervous 

 horse. Such horses get sobered down with age, hard work, and 

 bulky food, and in good hands, often make very useful old horses. 

 In bad hands they suffer intensely, and sometimes suffer long, 

 but often wear out early, or break down with some desperate 

 effort. 



588. — The fibrous, temperament is free, strong, and enduring, 

 working with ease and pleasure, requires no excessive care, and is 

 little prone to disable itself with fat. It is emphatically the 

 useful temperament in a horse, and should be selected by all who 

 want a horse for useful steady work, day after day. 



589. — The lymphatic is the easy going temperament. In 

 great excess it is soft and incapable, but in moderation it is the 

 temperament to endure excessively indulgent, excessively exciting, 

 or excessively cruel treatment. Such a horse will give satisfaction 

 to an indulgent owner, who wants him to display a glossy coat, 

 and to behave quietly without any exhausting work. He can be 

 trusted to move railway waggons amongst passing trains. He 

 takes the cruel curb chain, the torturing bearing rein, the rough 

 voice, the wanton blow, or the brutal kick, without affecting his 

 appetite or his spirits. 



HEART AND LUNGS. 



590.— For the sanguine temperament wanted in every horse, 

 the heart and lungs must be large and good. Of these we can 

 judge something by the frame that contains them. If the chest 

 is small and circular there will not be room for enough heart and 

 lung power. If it is large and circular there will be room for 

 large heart and lungs, but still the lungs will only be able to work 



