DESCRIPTION OF THE NASAL BONES. ]69. 



follow the decline of various diseases, and especially of those that affect the 

 head and the respiratory passages. It has been the consequence of brutal 

 treatment closing the conduit of the ear, or rupturing the tympanum ; and it is 

 certainly, as in other domesticated animals, the accompaniment of old age. 



In the present state of veterinary knowledge it is an incurable complaint; 

 the only thing that can be done is not to punish the poor slave for his apparent 

 stupidity, produced perhaps by over-exertion in our service, or, at least, the 

 natural attendant of the close of a life devoted to us. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH. 



We now proceed to a description of the face, or lower part of the head of the 

 Horse. The nasal bones, or hones of the nose (Jj, p. 110, and a, p. Ill), are 

 connected with the frontal bones above, and with the lacrymal, i i, and the bones 

 of the upper jaw, 1 1, on either side. They are united together by a plain suture, 

 which is a continuation of the frontal, and they terminate in a point at the nos- 

 tril (p, p. 110). They are rounded and arched above, because they are exposed 

 to occasional violence and injury, which the arch-form will enable them best to 

 resist ; and at the base of the arch, where the main strength should be, they 

 are overlapped by the upper jawbone, as the temporal bone overlaps the base of 

 the parietal. These bones form a principal part of the face ; and the length, or 

 shortness, and the character of the face, depend upon them. Sometimes there 

 is an appearance of two little arches, with a depression between them along the 

 sutures. This is often found in the blood-horse with his comparatively broad 

 head and face. The single elevated arch is found in the long and narrow face 

 of the heavy draught-horse. 



The nasal hones pursue their course down the face, in some horses in a straight 

 line — in others, there is a slight prominence towards the upper part, while in a 

 considerable number, a depression is observed a little lower down. Some persons 

 have imagined that this deviation in the line of the face affords an indication of the 

 temper of the animal, and there may be a little truth in this. The horse with 

 a straight profile may be good or bad tempered, but not often either to any great 

 excess. The one with the prominent Roman nose will generally be an easy, 

 good-tempered kind of beast — hardy — ready enough to feed, not always, perhaps, 

 so ready to work, but may be made to do his duty without any cruel urging, 

 and having no extraordinary pretension to speed or blood. On the other hand, a 

 depression across the centre of the nose generally indicates some breeding, 

 especially if the head is small, but occasionally accompanied by a vicious, uncon- 

 trollable disposition. 



There is another way, however, in which the nasal bones do more certainly 

 indicate the breed, viz. by their comparative length or shortness. There is no 

 surer criterion of a well-bred horse, than a broad angular forehead, prominent 

 features, and a short face ; nor of a horse with little breeding, than a narrow 

 forehead, small features, and lengthened nose. The comparative development 

 of the head and face indicates, with little error, the preponderance of the animal 

 or intellectual principle. 



