THE HORSE. 89 



traces in such a manner as neither to cause 

 painful pressure nor to interfere with the free 

 action of the lungs. I do not know any natural 

 reason why the region of the shoulder and neck 

 in the horse should have the structures so ar- 

 ranged as to offer facility for the wearing of a 

 collar. In this case chance has come to the 

 aid of man's ingenuity, or perhaps it would be 

 more correct to say that man's ingenuity has 

 seized upon a fortunate chance. One point as 

 to the special fitness of a draught-horse's shape 

 for his work is probably due to an original 

 peculiarity of the heavier breeds which existed 

 in the days of equine freedom. For slow draught 

 an upright shoulder with a rather heavy " point " 

 is considered most desirable, whereas a sloping 

 shoulder, which does not project forwards, is 

 found best adapted for the duties of the saddle- 

 horse and for light-harness work requiring speed 

 rather than strength. The aboriginal horses 

 of Western Europe, from which our heavier 

 modern breeds are probably descended, were 

 built on the former plan, whereas the modern 

 representatives of the more speedy Eastern and 

 Southern steeds have light sloping shoulders, 

 which, while unfitting them for heavy -harness 



