136 COMPARATIVE SHAPE OF HORSES. 



require physical excellence, this application of selection would 

 certainly prove too costly for practical requirements. Hence, 

 in temperate climates like those of England and Australasia, 

 horse-breeders are unable to maintain a race of ponies which 

 are well fed and well cared for. Extraordinarily good 

 polo ponies, like Dynamite (Fig. 237), and racing ponies, like 

 Predominant, are more or less flukes in breeding. At the 

 same time, we must not ignore the following three facts in 

 this connection :— (i) That the respective offspring of certain 

 sires and certain mares are abnormally small , (2) first foals 

 are often smaller than subsequent ones ; and (3) the produce 

 of very old sires are frequently lacking in height 



Thickness of Limb. — Continuing the argument begun 

 in Chapter I., we find that the muscles of the limbs of 

 gallopers are comparatively long and slender. Hence, the 

 bones, being dependent on the muscles for their shape, must 

 partake of the same character. It is advantageous for 

 another reason that they should be slight ; for, were the 

 bones of the legs of the galloper massive, the friction in the 

 working of their joints would be proportionately increased, 

 with consequent loss of speed, which would be of little 

 importance n the heavy draught animal, in which the 

 opposite kmd ot conformation should be sought for. 



Length of Neck. — As the muscles which draw the 

 fore leg forward (namely, those of the neck) are muscles of 

 locomotion, they should be proportionate in length to those 

 of the fore limb. Hence, if a horse has long fore legs, like 

 the race-horse, he ought to have a long neck ; and vice versa. 



Length of Head, — As the head is a part of the spinal 

 column (p. 24), its length, as a rule, will be proportionate 

 to that of the spinal column ; but will bear no fixed ratio 

 to the length of the limbs,^ which varies according to the kind 

 of work to which the particular horse is best suited. Thus, 

 we find that although the length of the head has the same 



