THE HEIGHT. 807 



technical description, a factor whose ordinary precision and fixity are 

 very great aids in distinguishing, in practice, animals otherwise almost 

 alike. 



Experienced persons judge the height of a horse quite accurately 

 by a simple glance, scarcely misjudging it even by one centimetre. 

 However, it is preferable to employ an instrument which gives positive 

 information and constant results, if it be well constructed and properly 

 manipulated. 



Sometimes, however, we meet with certain very irritable subjects 

 which object to being touched, and can only be approached with 

 difficulty. " Such cases are frequently found," says Captain Rivet,^ 

 "among the horses in the swamps of the Poitou and the Vendee, 

 which have never been shod, and which are haltered for the first time 

 when they are brought before the committee on remounts." Be this 

 as it may, we must always act with gentleness and care to avoid acci- 

 dents; the height must be judged by the eye alone whenever it is 

 impossible to take it by other means. 



Instruments employed for determining the Height. — An 

 instrument formerly in vogue was the chain, of which some persons 

 still speak, but often without being acquainted with it. The most 

 recent description of it which has been given dates back to 1770; we 

 will repeat it here simply on account of its historical interest. 



" The chain" writes De Garsault,'* " is made of small links of iron or brass, 

 is six feet long, and is marked foot by foot by a twisted brass wire ; from the 

 fourth to the sixth foot other small iron or brass wires mark the inches ; at 

 the lower end of the chain is a plumb. In measuring the horse, the chain is so 

 held that the plumb hangs opposite to the hoof of the fore-foot ; then, placing 

 the chain along the side of the shoulder to the point of the withers, the corre- 

 sponding point on the chain is noted ; then the number of feet and inches on the 

 chain is determined, and the height of the horse obtained according to this 

 measurement. This measurement is not exactly accurate, because it can be 

 modified by the shoulder, more or less fleshy, in different horses of equal 

 height, which may sometimes amount to a difference of two and one-half inches 

 or more." 



The same author adds farther on : 



" Some persons, in the absence of the graduated chain, measure upon a cord 

 with the fist. The fist measures three inches, which is called a hand. Thus, 

 nineteen hands are equal to about four feet nine inches. More rarely the elbow 

 is used to measure the horse ; one elbow equals one foot and a half." 



Modern horsemen, much more correctly, measure the height of the 



1 Rivet, Guide pratique de I'acheteur de chevaux, p. 53. 



2 De Garsault, Le nouveau parfait mar^chal, p. 34, Paris, 1770. 



