148 COMPARATIVE SHAPE OF HORSES. 



on his general shape, than on the possession or absence of any 

 particular " point." 



I may mention that, in making comparisons, we should not 

 be disconcerted by the fact that some of the proportions of 

 the horse may vary a little according to the position in which 

 he stands, and the nature of his bodily condition. Some 

 allowance has to be made for the fact, in my illustrations, 

 that the majority of the gallopers were taken when they were 

 in hard training, and some of the heavier horses when they 

 were in a "lusty" state. It would have been more satis- 

 factory, had I been able to have had their photographs taken 

 at a time when they were all in the same condition ; but 

 that, obviously, was out of my power to do. The method I 

 shall indicate will, however, give results sufficiently uniform 

 lor our purpose. We must also remember that the respective 

 proportions of animals of the same class and of equal merit 

 are not always the same ; for a defect in one point may be 

 compensated by increased excellence in another point. 



Limit of Height. — In all species of animals there appears 

 to be a limit of height which the respective members cannot, 

 as a rule, exceed, and at the same time retain strength, activity 

 and symmetry of form. We see this law well exemplified 

 in dogs, which can rarely surpass, say, thirty-four inches in 

 height, without becoming weak in the loins and clumsy in their 

 movements. For cart-horses, I shall put this limit at, say, 

 seventeen hands two inches ; and for race-horses, at, say, six- 

 teen hands three inches. Besides this maximum, there is a 

 certain height which it is no benefit for a horse, from a useful 

 point of view, to exceed. Although, to employ an old saying, 

 "a good big one will beat a good little one;" it is no 



