ISO HEAD AND NECK 



a soft constitutloned horse with ears of this description " 

 {Carson), Goubaux and Barrier state : '* It is a fact worthy 

 of notice that horses which have short ears are always 

 energetic and plucky. There seems to be a certain 

 relation between their length and the timidity of their 

 bearers. At least, this is the conclusion we may draw from 

 a comparison made among different kinds of animals, of 

 which the most timid and inoffensive have them greatly 

 developed. Carnivorous animals, on the contrary, have them 

 small. Short ears render the head lighter, and the expres- 

 sion of the face brighter, more expressive and more pleasing 

 to the eye. In this respect the Arab horse^ greatly excels 

 English and continental animals. It is considered a beauty 

 for a horse to have his ears well directed to the front 

 at an angle of about 45° with the axis of the head. Quick 

 and energetic animals carry their ears in this manner. To 

 sum up, the ear is beautiful when it is short, directed to 

 the front, well placed, lean, fine, and covered with thin skin, 

 which should be adherent, and comparatively free from hair 

 in the interior of the ear.'' With respect to the ears being 

 *' well directed to the front at an angle of about 45*^ with 

 the axis of the head,'' I may remark that such a carriage of 

 the ears, being produced by voluntary muscular effort, can 

 be sustained only for a comparatively brief space of time. 

 Almost all horses which are not prevented therefrom by 

 disease, malformation or accident, have the ability to direct 

 their ears forward in the manner mentioned ; but do so only 

 when their attention is attracted to something in front of 

 them. The same may be said of donkeys, mules and zebras 

 (Figs. 257 and 258). It is true that some horses "• prick their 

 ears " more frequently than others ; but, for all that, such 

 carriage of the ears can be regarded as but a temporary 

 lighting-up of the face, and not as a permanent beauty. I may 

 add that if a horse habitually carries his ears more or less 

 directed behind him, we might suspect him to be wanting 

 in courage and good temper. This is by no means an 

 invariable rule, for I have met some notable exceptions. 



