HORSES. 



489 



Form. 



The horses are such well-known and familiar animals, that it 

 would be superfluous to describe their form and appearance in detail. 

 It may be observed, however, that the ears are long, and that the tail is likewise 

 elongated, but may be either clothed with long hairs throughout its length, or 

 merely tufted at the extremity. The neck carries a mane, which may be either 

 erect or pendent, and the fore-limb has a hard naked callosity above the wrist 

 joint. In most wild species some portions, or the whole, of the body and limbs are 



shihe stallion (''MAKS victor").— The property of Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart. 



Distribution. 



marked with transverse dark stripes, but these disappear more or less completely 

 in the domesticated breeds. 



With the exception of those that have been introduced by man 

 into other regions, horses are now confined to the Old World, and are 

 especially characteristic of Africa. They may be divided into true horses, zebras, 

 and asses. 

 Nomenclature Before, however, proceeding to the consideration of these groups, 



of Limba. ft ma y \^ e we \\ ^ men tion that the terms commonly applied to the 

 various segments of the limbs of the members of the horse family are not the 

 same as those used by the zoologist and anatomist. For instance, what is commonly 

 designated the knee of the horse is really its wrist, while the so-called hock in the 

 hind-limb is the ankle-joint. The true knee is, of course, in the hind-limb, and is 

 commonly known as the stifle-joint, wdiile in the fore-limb the elbow -joint is 

 situated, as in other animals, at the lower end of the humerus. The fore and hind 

 cannon-bones respectively correspond to the human middle metacarpal and meta- 

 tarsal bones, and the so-called pastern and coronet bones to the three joints of the 



