Ears. The ears of the horse are expressive of many feel- 

 ings, convey pleasure and pain as well as anger, and afford an 

 excellent index of mind and health. The command which the 

 horse has over them is marvelous. They can be thrown for- 

 ward or backward at will. One can be thrown back to hear 

 in the rear, while the other is thrown forw^ard as the horse sees 

 and hears in front. The normal position of the ear when the 

 horse is inactive, is thrown backwards, but when he is at work 

 it varies with conditions. When expecting orders it is verti- 

 cal; when the horse is cross it drops back low; when listening 

 or looking to the front it is thrown forward; when he is 

 asleep one ear is always pointed to the front. AVhen the sad- 

 dle horse is in action he listens attentively to the least sound 

 of his rider's voice, which he expects to hear, and by giving 

 him the habit of listening to and obeying the voice, the use of 

 the bit is reduced to the minimum. 



The ear which lias most admirers is the one which is composed of a 

 mere shell of gristle enveloped in a layer of thin skin, which should 

 be clotlied witli a coat of fine hair, that may, however, be somewhat 

 meager on the inner surface, especially in the summer season. In 

 shape it should taper from the base to a rather sharp point at the 

 tip. Experience in selecting horses has led ns to observe the move- 

 ments of the ear with much caie, and regard them to some extent 

 as the index to the animal's character, for they not only indicate a 

 well-balanced disposition, a vicious or sluggish horse, as the case 

 may be, but they point to defective eyesight, or even total blindness, 

 in which case the ever restless ear will be thrown first in one direc- 

 tion and then in another. — E. A. A. Grange, V. S., Michigan State 

 College Experiment Station. 



Easy Bit. [Eq.] In equestrianism what is termed an 



easy bit is the best for a horse , because, while a severe bit 



ought to enable him to do well and prevent him from doing 



ill, instead it often causes a severe restraint upon the natural 



action of the horse. 



An easy bit is the best one by which to control the horse, and next to 

 this a skillful hand— for the bit is the hand, and a good hand is the 

 whole of the rider.— New Method of Horsemanship, F. Baucher. 



Eclipse. The most celebrated horse in the annals of the 

 turf. Bred by the Duke of Cumberland. Foaled April 1, 

 1764, the day on which occured the remarkable eclipse of the 

 sun, from which event his name was given. By Mask, by 

 Squirt, by Bartlett's Childers, by the Darley Arabian; dam, 

 Spiletta, by Regulus, by the Godolphin Arabian. He was 



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