136 JUDGING FARM ANIMALS 



of neck is essential in the speed horse, and to secure this, 

 there must be ample length and muscularity without any 

 undesirable thickness. Hayes states 1 * that "when 'clever- 

 ness' is essential to a horse, he should have a flexible neck, 

 and should be able to bend and extend it with utmost fa- 

 cility, so as to use his head and neck as balancing pole for 

 preserving the equilibrium of his body." Patrons of the 

 race track who are interested in the horse, are well aware 

 that the long, flexible neck is a striking feature of con- 

 formation. It is desirable, for good conformation, to have 

 a top line of neck with a very slight arch, but not enough 

 to be conspicuous, excepting among stallions. Ewe necks 

 are not uncommon among light harness horses, but this 

 conformation is neither beautiful nor muscular. Hayes, in 

 referring to this kind of neck 2 with light harness horses, 

 states that it seems to be no detriment to speed, but that it 

 might affect his handiness, by depriving his rider or driver, 

 to some extent, of command of him, and by causing his 

 head to be brought into a direction which might prevent 

 him seeing clearly where he is going. According to Gou- 

 baux and Barriere, 3 ' ' The neck is called straight or pyra- 

 midal, when its borders are rectilinear, and its lateral faces 

 nearly plane or but slightly rounded, according to the age, 

 the sex, the volume of the muscles, etc., of the animal. The 

 head is then well supported and well directed." Such a 

 type of neck applies especially to the light harness horse. 

 The shoulders of the light harness horse should be 

 long and especially oblique or sloping, for the reason that 

 the horse with a long, oblique, light shoulder is able to 

 raise his fore limb and advance it more easily than with 

 a more upright or straight shoulder. Obliqueness in itself, 

 however, is no guarantee of speed, for we know that deer 

 and antelope, the shoulders of which incline to be upright, 

 are very rapid travelers. However, in the artificial con- 



l!X The Points of the Horse, 3d ed., 1904, p. 221. 

 2 The Points of the Horse, 3d ed., 1904, p. 224. 

 s The Exterior of the Horse, 2d ed., 1904, p. 99. 



