ON BREEDING'. 
their powers are intended to be applied; for the slender racer 
would make but a poor figure in heavy draught; nor is the carriage 
horse better calculated to take the place of the hackney. There¬ 
fore what is considered handsome and beautiful in regard to horse¬ 
flesh, must be understood to imply the true and exact proportion 
of parts. The terms “beauty” and “proportion” are, conse¬ 
quently, perfectly synonymous. 
The French veterinarians have taken great trouble to ascer¬ 
tain the proportions which the different parts of the body should 
bear to each other, in order to discover the relative magnitude of 
the head, neck, trunk, and limbs which ought to be found in 
the best constructed frame. If only one particular figure, and one 
set of proportions, were consistent with strength and activity, 
it would be of some benefit to make ourselves acquainted with 
those geometrical proportions; but in order to show that the 
perfections of horses cannot be determined by any general rules, 
we have extracted a part of Mons. St. Beks observations on 
the proportions of Eclipse, compared with the table before men¬ 
tioned. 
“ 1. In that table the horse should measure three heads in 
height, counting from the foretop to the ground: Eclipse mea¬ 
sured three heads and a half. 
“2. The neck should measure but one head in length: that 
of Eclipse measured a head and a half. 
“3. The height of the body should be equal to its length: the 
height of Eclipse exceeded his length by about one tenth. 
“4. A perpendicular line falling from the stifle should touch 
the toe: this line in Eclipse touched the ground at the distance 
of half a head before the toe. 
“ 5. Tiie distance from the elbow to the bend of the knee should 
Horses for two-wheeled carriages should be (he same, but something 
smaller. The former are perfect between 15-3 and 16-1; the latter between 
15-1 and 15-2. No horse is so adapted lor quick draught as a powerful 
hackney: why, otherwise, do we take such pains to hinge and rein up our 
carriage horses, but to lighten them before? When we again go hack to 
old times, and rend advertisements holding out safe and expeditious tra¬ 
velling from London to York in six days y then we may safely resume the 
old l/landers breed. 
In cart-horses , or those for heavy draught, a similar improvement has 
been attempted by lightening them materially; hut though, when very 
bulky, they are certainly objectionable, yet i think, for this kind of horse, 
some bulk and weight are essential; for it is certain that these animals 
draw by their weight as well as by their strength. The cart-horse should, 
therefore, be collectively, though in different proportions according to bis 
various uses, bulky, square, and muscular ; and it is peculiarly desirable 
that his fdVe paits should be equal in weight and substance to his hinder/’ 
Blaines Outlines of the Veterinary Art. 
