i66 HEAD AND NECK. 



much less long, at first glance, than the body is deep. 

 Besides this, the fact of the body being round, while the side 

 of the horse's head, as seen in profile, is flat, will cause the 

 depth of the former to appear to measure more than the 

 length of the latter. We may prove the approximate correct- 

 ness of the ratio of i to 2 \, by reference to the table given on 

 p. 152. From it we see that in Ormonde the proportion 

 is I to 2 "5 ; in St. Simon, i to 2*48 ; in Cheadle Jumbo, i to 

 2*6, and in Chance i to 27. Here, possibly to our surprise, 

 we perceive that the cart-horses have comparatively smaller 

 heads than the racers — a difference w'hich, no doubt, is due 

 to their grosser "condition;" as the fat on their chests 

 and quarters must add slightly to their length of body. 

 Bourgelat, followed by all, or nearly all, the French writers 

 on equine conformation, adopted the length of a horse's head 

 as a measure of its height, in the proportion of i to 2\. This 

 eminent Frenchman based his calculations on a type of horse 

 (such as the ordinary saddle nag) which was about as high at 

 the withers as it was long in the body, and did not take into 

 consideration the great differences between the respective 

 heights and lengths of animals of various classes, ranging 

 from the racer to the Shire horse. From my own obser- 

 vations, I would put the length of a horse at about 2\ to 2\ 

 times the length of his head. 



The fact that the size of the head of the horse is propor- 

 tionate to his length of body, and not to his height at the 

 withers, accounts for the cart-horse appearing to have a 

 comparatively larger head than the thoroughbred. 



Leanness of Head. — In the lighter classes of horses, 

 the head should present a general appearance of "leanness." 



