LENG TH OF HEAD. 1 6 1 



Length of Head. — As the head is a part of the 

 spinal column i^see p. 30), their respective lengths should 

 be proportionate to each other ; but the head can bear no 

 fixed ratio to the length of the limbs, which varies according 

 to the kind of work to which the particular horse is best 

 suited. Thus, we find that although the length of the 

 head has the same proportion (about i to 2^) to the length 

 of the body in both the racer and cart-horse, the comparison 

 does not hold good with regard to the height, which is 

 naturally influenced by the length of the fore legs. 



Width between the Legs.— In the heavy draught 

 horse, the fore legs are kept apart by the massive pectoral 

 muscles {see p. 38) which draw the fore limbs back. The 

 hip joints have also to be widely asunder to permit of great 

 width of the pelvis for the attachment of extremely large 

 muscles. In the galloper it is different. For remarks on 

 this subject, see p. 65. 



Comparative Weight of Body. — The body of the 

 race-horse should be as light as is compatible with the due 

 performance of his work. The heavy cart-horse, on the 

 contrary, requires a deep, massive body for the attachment of 

 his powerful muscles, and, also, to give him the necessary 

 weight to throw into the collar. This subject has been dis- 

 cussed in Chapter IX. {see p. ']'^. 



Comparative Length of the Bones of the Limbs.— 



If we "pick up" in succession the fore feet of a number of 

 differently shaped horses, and bend the limbs at the knees 

 as far as they will "go," we shall find that in almost all 



M 



