20 THE HORSE. 



unseemly than a horse whose neck, when reined up, 

 presents a straight line all along the top, and a con- 

 vexity at the under edge. He is then said to be ewe- 

 necked. A horse with a neck of this description might 

 be a good one, but he can never be a handsome one ; 

 in short, a nice, finely set-on head, and a tolerably 

 long neck, arched in such a way as to form a convexity 

 above, and a concavity below, would add to the beauty, 

 and most materially increase the value, of any horse. 



The manner in which the neck is attached to the 

 shoulder is deserving of special consideration. In every 

 case it should be set well up on the shoulder, so as to 

 allow a convenient seat for the collar below, and thus 

 avoid pressure on the windpipe, or abrasion of the 

 skin. This arrangement will also assist in making the 

 horse light in hand. In the heavy draught-horse, the 

 junction of the neck and shoulder may be strong and 

 thick throughout ; but in all other instances the spot on 

 which the collar rests above, in front of the shoulder- 

 top, must be hollowed out. This I insist upon as an 

 indispensable requisite in a horse for the saddle or light 

 harness. Such a conformation enables the rider or 

 di*iver to raise the head of the horse to a considerable 

 height without altering, to any great extent, the posi- 

 tion of the shoulders and body ; whereas, if the neck 

 were strongly and fully made up at this point to the 

 level of the shoulder-top, the head and neck could not 

 be raised without raising, at the same time, the shoul- 



