546 SMALL HEAD : THICK jowl. [book IV. 



wind. His crest snould be firm, thin, and well- 

 risen; his neck long and straight, yet not loose and 

 pliant, which our north countrymen term withy 

 cragged ; his breast strong and broad; his chest 

 deep at the girth, his body of good size and close 

 ribbed up towards the stifle; his ribs round like 

 unto a barrel, his fillets large, his quarters rather 

 oval than broad, reaching well down to the gaskins. 

 His hock bone upright, not bending ; which some 

 do term sickle-houghed, and think it denotes fast- 

 ness and a laster. His legs should be clean, flat, 

 and straight ; his joints short, well knit, and up- 

 right, especially at the pastern and hoofs, with but 

 little hair at his fetlock : his hoofs black, strong, 

 and hollow, and rather long and narrow than big 

 and flat. His mane and tail should be long and 

 thin rather than very thick, which some think a 

 mark of dullness. 



Some do affect a small head at all hazards, 

 thinking none other belongs to a good horse, but 

 much will depend Upon how it is set on; if that be 

 upon a crane neck, as usually happens when very 

 small, he will carry unsteady, with tail up as a 

 counterbalance ; and, if large head arise from 

 thickness of the jowl, this will also be a real de- 

 formity and interfere with his safe going : hard 

 mouthed usually accompanies the great big head at 

 the jowl. Expanded forehead is quite a different 

 thing, and belongs to neither of those objections, 

 but on the contrary is a redeeming sign of good 

 breeding for any kind of faulty head, or long or 



