191 



CHAPTER XVI. 



HEAD AND NECK. 



Size of Head — Leanness of Head — Profile of Face — Front \'ieu- of Face — Size of 

 Brain — Top of the Head — Ears — Forelock — 'E)'x:s — Hollows above the Eyes — 

 Nostrils — Lips — Lower Jaw — Setting-on of the Head — Neck — Mane — Throat. 



Size of Head. — We have seen on page 184 that the 

 length of the head, in different varieties of horses, corre- 

 sponds, as a rule, to the length of the body, but not to 

 that of the limbs. Agreeably to the axiom that " the 

 function makes the organ," we generally find, that a 

 horse's breathing capacity is proportionate to the size of 

 his air-passages, of which the cavities that lead from the 

 nostrils towards the wind-pipe and lungs cannot be large, 

 unless the bones which form them are of fair size. Be- 

 sides, as the tube (larynx) through which air enters the 

 lungs from the nasal cavities, lies between the two branches 

 of the lower jaw, it follows, speaking generally, that the 

 broader and more open the nostrils are, the greater will be 

 the calibre of this tube, and the more perfect the breathing 

 power. We must also remember that the length of the 

 head is mainly dependent on the length of the jaws, the 

 size of which is naturally dependent on the amount of food 

 which the animal has to masticate for the requirements of 

 his digestive organs. Although it is impossible to make any 

 hard and fast rule on this subject, we may infer that a 

 comparatively small head is not a desirable " point " in 

 horses whose success depends on their powers of breathing 

 and digestion. I venture to think that men of experience 

 will agree with me in saying that unusuall\- neat and trim 



