EWE- NECK '83 



angle necessary to afford ready sympathy between the 

 mouth and a hght-handed rider ; and man and horse 

 thus working in unison will be better able to over- 

 come the difficulties presented by formidable fences. 

 Nothing can be more tiring or trying to one's temper 

 than a heavy-headed boring horse dwelling on one's 

 hand throughout the day, and such animals, if con- 

 stantly ridden, would spoil a man's hands and make 

 them heavy in course of time. 



We have all of us, I suppose, at one time or another, 

 owned ewe-necked horses. Such conformation makes 

 them appear short in the forehand. For racing, or, as 

 far as appearance is concerned, for breeding purposes, 

 this peculiarity is a drawback ; but I have found by 

 experience that a horse so shaped in the neck can, by 

 reason of the windpipe being in almost a straight line 

 from the lungs, breathe more freely and naturally. It 

 is doubtless the case that horses so shaped, unless 

 carefully handled when being broken, are apt to be 

 rather heavier on the hands, but I consider that this is 

 more than fully compensated for by reason of the stay- 

 ing power being so materially increased, for the 

 reasons I have given. 



The forehand of a hunter should be loftier than that 

 of a thoroughbred. The latter, used for racing pur- 

 poses, can afford, without detriment, to have his hind- 

 quarters an inch or two higher than his forehand, inas- 

 much as propelling power is of the chief hnportance to 

 a racehorse, and, the forehand being somewhat low, 

 the weight is thereby thrown more in front, and the 

 whole machine is more easily and speedily moved. In 

 a hunter we must, for the sake of comfort, have a lofty 

 forehand and extensive shoulder, the latter oblique, 



