LEANNESS OF HEAD. 167 



that is to say, the skin which covers it should be fine ; its 

 bony prominences sharply marked ; and the muscles, blood- 

 vessels, and nerves which are immediately under the skin, 

 clearly defined. 



The absence, thus indicated, of an excess of loose under- 

 lying tissue will suggest the possession of strength of muscle 

 and bone {see p. 15). When the head is large and 

 " fleshy," we may generally assume that the animal is 

 "soft" and wanting in "blood." The presence on the head 

 of well-developed muscles, of which those of mastication are 

 the most powerful, will naturally suggest to the observer that 

 the horse has a good constitution. As pointed out by MM. 

 Goubaux and Barrier, we must not mistake for "leanness" an 

 emaciated or wasted appearance of the muscles, due to old 

 age or debility. 



The Bombay Arab dealers (such as that fine judge, Ali 

 bin Abdullah, and that prince of Bedouins, the late Shaikh 

 Esa bin Curtas) regard thinness of the lower jaw at its angles 

 as a sure sign of pure desert blood. 



Profile of Face. — The line of the forehead and nose, 

 when viewed in profile, will, as a rule, be straight, concave or 

 convex. The first two forms of contour are more or less 

 characteristic of the thorough-bred and Arab ; although it is 

 only correct to say that many horses of aristocratic English 

 blood have Roman noses, especially those bred in the 

 Colonies. I have never seen a high caste Arab have such a 

 conformation. For straight profiles w^e may point to Pis- 

 35 and 39. PL 31 shows a concave profile. The true 

 concave face is obtained, not by a prominent forehead, as in 

 PI. 21 ; but by a dip in the nose between the eyes and 



