28 THE HORSE. 



accordance with the opinions of the above distinguished English 

 veterinarian, that in other respects "there appears some discord- 

 ance in his admeasurements" of Eclipse. Nevertheless, it may 

 safely be assumed, according to Mr. Percivall's summing up, that 

 ''he was a big horse in every sense of the word; he was tall in 

 stature, lengthy and capacious in body, and large in his limbs. 

 For a big horse his head was small, and partook of the Arabian 

 character. His neck was unusually long. His shoulder was 

 strong, sufficiently oblique, and though not remarkable for, not 

 deficient in, depth. His chest was circular. He rose very little 

 in his withers, being higher behind than before. His back was 

 lengthy, and over the loins reached. His quarters were straight, 

 square, and extended. His limbs were lengthy and broad, and 

 his joints large, in particular his arms and thighs were long and 

 muscular, and his knees and hooks broad and well formed." 



The scale which I have given likewise differs in many particulars, 

 though only slightly, from that which is usually found in treatises 

 on the horse; but I have preferred trusting to Nature herself 

 rather than to the observations of previous writers, which may be 

 consulted by the reader at any time. 



MATURITY. 



The horse completes his dentition at five years old, when 

 he may be said to be mature. At eight or nine years the lower 

 teeth lose their marks, or black concavities, after which there is no 

 reliable evidence of age, which can, however, be tolerably accurately 

 guessed at from the length of the front teeth or nippers, and from 

 the general appearance of the horse, especially about the eyes, as 

 will be hereafter shown. 



Mares are very commonly allowed to breed in their 

 third year, being put to the horse as two year olds. They often, 

 however, come "in season" as yearlings, and many would then 

 breed if allowed to be covered. It is found by experience that the 

 foal robs the dam of some part of the nourishment which is destined 

 by nature to develop the maternal frame, and hence the young 

 mare is injured in size and substance if she breeds before she has 

 come very near to maturity. 



AVERAGE AGE. 



The average age of the horse, when allowed to live without 

 the risk of accidents and disease which he incurs in his usual work, 

 is about twenty-five years. Instances of greater longevity are 

 recorded on good authority, and there is reason to believe that 

 occasionally he has reached to thirty-five or even forty years, but 

 these are rare exceptions, and there are few which live beyond the 

 twenty-eighth year, while a large proportion die before the twenty- 

 fifth. Stallions are over-fed and under-exercised in proportion, so 



