i64 HEAD AND NECK. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



HEAD AND NECK. 



Size of Head — Leanness of Head — Profile of Face — Front view of Face— • 

 Size of Brain — Top of the Head — Ears — Eyes — Hollows above the Eyes 

 — Nostrils — Lips — Lower Jaw — Setting-on of the Head — Neck — Throat. 



Size of Head. — We have seen on page i6i that as the head 

 is a portion of the spinal column, it should correspond in size 

 to the bones of~the back, loins, croup, and ribs, and not to 

 those of the limbs. Agreeably to the axiom that " the 

 function makes the organ," we find, in the majority of cases, 

 that a horse's breathing capacity is proportionate to the size 

 of his air passages, of which the cavities that lead from the 

 nostrils towards the windpipe and lungs cannot be large, 

 unless the bones which form them are of a fair size. We must 

 remember that a horse breathes, normally, through his nostrils 

 and not through his mouth. Besides, as the tube {larynx) 

 through which air enters the lungs from the nasal cavities, 

 lies between the two branches of the lower jaw ; it follows, 

 speaking generally, that the broader and more open the 

 nostrils are, the greater will be the calibre of this tube, and 

 the more perfect the breathing power. Although it is 

 impossible to draw any hard and fast rule on this subject ; 

 we may infer that a comparatively small head is not a desir- 



