THE FORM OF THE NECK. 155 



that. In the carriage horse, a neck that is not half concealed by the collar 

 is indispensable, so far as appearance goes ; and it is only the horse with 

 a neck of tolerable length, that will bear to be reined np, so as to give 

 this part that arched and beautiful appearance which fashion demands. 

 It is no detriment to the riding horse, and there are few horses of extraor- 

 dinary speed, which have not the neck rather long. The race horse at the 

 top of his speed not only extends it as far as he can, that the air-passages 

 may be as straight as he can make them, and that he may therefore be able 

 to breathe more freely, but the weight of the head and neck, and the effect 

 increasing with their distance from the trunk, add materially to the rapidity 

 of the animal's motion, by throwing his weight considerably forward. It 

 has been said, that a horse with a long neck will bear heavy on the hand. 

 We do not believe that either the length of the neck, or even the bulk of 

 the head, has any influence in causing this. They are both counterbalanced 

 by the power of the ligament of the neck. The setting on of the head is 

 most of all connected with heavy bearing on the hand, and a short-necked 

 horse will bear heavily, because, from the thickness of the lower part of the 

 neck, consequent on its shortness, the head cannot be rightly placed. The 

 head and neck, however, should be proportioned to each other. A short 

 head on a long neck, or a long head on a short neck, would equally offend 

 the eye. 



Connected with this splenius muscle, and partly produced by it, we would 

 direct the attention of the reader to the thickness and muscularity of the neck 

 in this cut, as it springs from the shoulders ; the height at which it comes 

 out from them, forming nearly a line with the withers ; and the manner hi 

 which it tapers as it approaches the head, and this muscle diminishing in 

 size. The neck of a well formed horse, however fine at the top, should be 

 muscular at the bottom, or the horse to which it belongs will generally be 

 weak and worthless. Necks devoid of this muscularity are called loose 

 necks by horsemen, and are always considered a very serious objection to 

 the animal. If the neck be thin and lean at the upper part, and be other- 

 wise well-shaped, the horse will usually carry himself well, and the head 

 will be properly curved for beauty of appearance, and ease of riding. 

 When an instance to the contrary occurs, it is to be traced to very im- 

 proper management, or to the space between the jaws being unnaturally 

 small. 



The splenius muscle, although a main agent in raising the head and 

 neck, may be too large, or covered with too much cellular substance or fat, 

 and give an appearance of heaviness or even clumsiness to the neck. 

 This peculiarity of form constitutes the distinction between the perfect 

 horse and the mare, and also the gelding, unless castrated at a very late 

 period. Horses with thick, heavy crests are usually slow and sluggish. 



This tendon, c, belongs also to another muscle, which make sup the prin- 

 cipal bulk of the lower part of the neck, and is called the complexus 77iajor, 

 or larger complicated muscle. It arises partly as low as the transverse pro- 

 cesses of the four or five first bones of the back, and from the five lower 

 bones of the neck ; and the fibres from these various sources vmiting 

 together, form a very large and powerful muscle, the largest and strongest 

 in the neck. As it approaches the head, it lessens in bulk, and terminates 

 partly with the splenius in this tendon, but is principally inserted into the 

 back part of the occipital bone, by the side of the ligament of the neck. 

 In our cut, p. 154, almost its whole course can be distinctly traced. Its 

 office is to raise the neck and elevate the head ; and being inserted 

 into such a part of the occiput, it will more particularly protrude the nose. 



