84 THE HUNTER. 



surable purpose, as his head cannot, by any means 

 whatever, be got into a proper place. 



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 oS'end the eye. 



Although length of neck in a hunter is not de- 

 sirable, length of shoulder is indispensable. Horses 

 have raced well with short upright shoulders ; but 

 it is impossible that one so formed, however good 

 he may be in his nature, or even in his general 

 action, can be a safe hunter, and for this reason : 

 A hunter is constantly subject, by down-hill leaps, 

 leaping into soft ground, and getting his fore-legs 

 into grips, or unsound ground, to have the centre 

 of gravity thrown forward beyond the base of his 

 legs ; and it is more or less recoverable according 

 to the length or shortness of his shoulder. By 

 length of shoulder is meant obliquity of the scapula, 

 or shoulder-bone, by which the point of the shoul- 

 der is projected forward, and which, added to the 



