THE HORSE. 27 



amiable expression. The mouth of the low- 

 bred horse is small and covered with coarse 

 hair, and gives the animal a sulky, dejected ap- 

 pearance. 



The lio:ht, eleg-ant head of the Arabian is well 

 set on his neck ; a slight convexity at the up- 

 per part of the throat gives freedom to the 

 functions of this organ, as well as elasticity to 

 the movements of the head and neck ; and 

 the encolui^e, or crest of the neck, is arched with 

 a graceful curve. But it is especially in the 

 shape of the shoulders that this horse excels all 

 others, and this is the secret of those easy move- 

 ments which make him so desirable for the sad- 

 dle. These shoulders are deep, and placed ob- 

 liquely at an angle of about 

 45° ; they act like the springs 

 of a well-made carriage, di- 

 minishing the shock or jar of 

 his movements. They are al- 

 ways accompanied by a deep 

 chest, high withers, and fore- 

 legs set well forward, qualities 



which make the horse much ^'^-^feTn^f'Trttlott 

 safer for riding. ( Fig. 5. ) ^^^"^ about 45°. 



The animal with straight shoulders, no mat- 

 ter how well shaped in other respects, can never 

 make a good saddle-horse, and should be at 



