794 THE EXTERIOR OF THE HORSE. 



Absence of Hairs. — All horses are not born with the same 

 quantity of hairs ; in certain foals their diminution may even amount 

 to a complete absence, called alopecia. These circumstances are ex- 

 tremely rare, and science mentions but a very small number of them. 

 I. Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire only mentions this anomaly ; ^ De Curnieu 

 reports several examples,^ and one of us has also had a case of this 

 kind, in 1832, in a menagerie. 



B. — Peculiarities of the Head. 



The peculiarities proper to the head are the following : ivhite mark 

 of the head, fox-nosed, moustaches, 3Ioor-headed, Moor-faced, ivall-eye, 

 and fawn-eye. 



White Mark of the Head. — We term by this expression the 

 whole of the white coloration located upon the forehead or upon the 

 face. It should be examined in relation to its extent, its form, its 

 situation, its direction, its composition, and its termination. Let us 

 review the expressions which characterize its diverse conditions : 



1st. When the mark is located upon the forehead we say : 



a. Relative to its extent : 



Some hairs on the head, when the horse has here very few 

 white hairs. 



Scattered, if it presents a large number. 



Medium, when there exists a spot of ordinary dimensions. 



Prolonged, in cases where the mark is prolonged upon the face. 



Interrupted, when it is intersected by a place deprived of white 

 hairs. 



Large, in cases where the mark is extensive. 



b. Relative to its form, it is also designated — 

 Irregular, when the white has no recognized form. 

 Blaze, if the mark is round. 



Star, when it presents prolongations analogous to the rays of a star. 



List, whenever it is elongated towards the nostrils. 



Crescent, when it simulates the arc of a circle. We then indi- 

 cate whether the concavity or opening of this crescent is in relation to 

 the right, the left, above or below. 



Flame, when it has the form of the flame of a candle. 



Heart, if it has the form of the heart on a playing-card. 



1 1. Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, Histoire g6n6rale et particuliSre des anomalies de I'organisation, 

 1. 1. p. 702, Paris, 1832. 



2 De Curnieu, loc. cit., Ire partie, p. 196. 



