196 avery's own farrier. 



of intelligence that he is capable of arriving at, &c.; 

 among the requisites of which are fine limbs and muzzle, 

 head not too disproportionably large for the body, ears 

 small or slim, not too far apart and of quick motion, eyes 

 prominent and wide apart, and large nostrils; white feet 

 and face are not objectionable in this respect, and a hol- 

 low face denotes speed and high spirits; though a round 

 face and Roman nose indicate a degree of docility that 

 is seldom met with in others, if the head is not too nar- 

 row above the eyes. There must be sufficient room in 

 the cavity of the skull for the mass of brain that is so 

 necessary for this purpose (notwithstanding the other 

 requisites), and which is the mainspring of all motion. 

 The ancients seem lo have employed their horses 

 mostly for the purposes of war, and that of the chariot 

 race. The training of them, both for war and the race, 

 seems to have occupied much time and attention, and to 

 have been conducted with a degree of skill which could 

 not have been attained without considerable study and 

 experience. Pliny truthfully said that by the ears of a 

 horse you could discover his intention. Buffon also re- 

 marked that when a horse walks, his ears point forward; 

 when fatigued, they hang down; and when angry, one 

 ear points forward and the other backward. The eye as 

 well as the ear plainly tells the intention of a horse; 

 when the head is rather bowed, and the eye, with the 

 effort to look out, is not much moved in the socket, with 

 coni^iderable expression of the surrounding parts, as often 

 winking, «Slc., all is well; but when the head is only a 

 little raised, with the eye-balls turned so as to show con- 

 siderable white of the eye, and the ears lay close to the 



