THE HEAD. 25 



loss of my wager, that the colt was got by the horse named, the 

 mare having been purchased in England and brought over in foal. 



This little anecdote will serve to remind us, as connoisseurs in 

 horses, that we are not in the habit of paying all the attention we 

 ought to the heads of horses, and in particular to that part of them 

 we call the face. We are told, the countenance is " the peculiar 

 property of man" — is the mind pourtrayed in the face : call it what 

 we may, however, there is in every brute an expression of face pe- 

 culiar to him or his kindred by which we may not only recognise 

 him better than by any other distinctive character, but in a very 

 great degree judge of his temper and capabilities The large 

 head not infrequently possesses a face whose aspect is recommenda- 

 tory, or of a character so open and good-tempered as to assure us 

 of the tractability and willingness of its possessor ; circumstances 

 under which it would be wrong, unless it were in the case of a race- 

 horse, to object to it. I have known a great many good big-headed 

 half-bred horses — hunters, roadsters, &c. — with faces of kindly ex- 

 pression : at the same time I must join in the universal anathema 

 pronounced upon big, ugly heads, and particularly when combined 

 with sour, ill-tempered countenances. 



The head includes within it three great cavities or compart- 

 ments: — one occupying the summit, forehead, and temples, for 

 holding the brain ; a second, extending from the forehead to the 

 muzzle, including the fore part of the face, for containing the ap- 

 paratus for smelling ; a third, known as the mouth, in which are 

 fixed the instruments for the mastication of the food : in addition 

 to which the head furnishes lodgment for the organs of sight and 

 hearing — the eyes and the ears. The throat, likewise, is a part 

 of very great importance : it includes the larynx, the entrance- 

 door into the windpipe, and a fulness hereabouts, externally, is an 

 indication that this aperture is of ample dimensions, and well-con- 

 structed for the purposes of respiration : in other words, a full throat 

 or throttle is one of the signs of " good wind." In fact, as a gene- 

 ral observation, we may assume, that the capabilities of parts are, 

 ccsteris paribus, commensurate with their development. The Ara- 

 bian or blood head, affords a good illustration of this. Its noble 

 broad forehead vouches for an ample share of sagacity ; its promi- 



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