HISTORICAL. 



351 



Saint-Bel. — Saint-Bel/ the founder of the veterinary school of Saint-Pan- 

 cras, endeavored to propagate the principles of Bourgelat in England. He 

 thought that Eclipse, that extraordinary and always unconquerable horse, would 

 be for English scholars the best type of the conformation of the beautiful horse, 

 and he prepared with great care the scale of the proportions of this noble animal. 



We do not know what instruments Saint- Bel made use of to measure 

 Eclipse. It is certain that he indicates accurate measurements alongside of 

 others that are altogether impossible. Perhaps he employed the tape-measure. 

 If this were so, the incompatibilities of several of his assertions may be 

 explained. However this may be, we have shown in our drawing the head of 

 Eclipse, such as this horse should have had in order to be regularly conformed. 



The length of the head is supposed to be divided into twenty-two equal parts, 

 which are used as a common measure for all parts of the body (Fig. 126) : 



L nd 



Fig. 126.— The proportions of Eclipse, after Saint- Bel. 



1st. Height of the poll from the ground (ab) 



2d. Height of the withers from the ground (cd) 



3d. Height of the croup from the ground (e/) 



4th. Whole length of the body, from the point of the shoulder 



to that of the buttock (gh) 



5th. Height of the body at the level of the centre of gravity (ik) 



6th. Elevation of the chest above the ground (?) 



7th. Height of the perpendicular falling from the point of the 



shoulder upon the hoof (gl) 



8th. Height of the perpendicular from the point of the elbow 



to the ground (win) 



3 heads and 13 parts. 

 3 heads. 

 3 heads. 



3 heads and 3 parts. 

 2 heads and 20 parts. 

 2 heads and 7 parts. 



2 heads and 5 parts. 



1 head and 19 parts. 



1 William Youatt, History of the English Thoroughbred Horse. 



