90 REVIEW.—ON THE CONFORMATION OF THE HORSE. 
of the inferior animals appear destitute of cranium; the crocodile 
among reptiles, and the pike among fish, furnishing examples of 
this.”—“ Horses, cattle, &c. that have eyes placed very high or 
backward towards the nape of the neck, manifest an expression of 
stupidity or heaviness; and birds that have very long beaks evince 
the same sort of expression.”—“ The type of beauty of head, as 
that of its several regions, is to be found in the oriental horse, and 
especially in the Arabian. His head is quadrangular ; it does in a 
measure assume the figure of a quadrilateral prism, especially 
about its superior parts. Of such heads all the regions are in 
general of proper conformation. The forehead is broad, and is in 
aline with a well developed muzzle; the jaw-bones are prominent 
and divergent, the nostrils dilated, and the eyes full; the muscles 
are well marked through a thin skin : every character, in fact, in¬ 
dicates noblesse , strength, vigour, energy.” 
The Foot. 
Passing from the head down to the foot—omitting all that in¬ 
tervenes—we find M. Richard commencing by informing his 
readers, that “ the learned English veterinarian, Bracy-Klarc 
(Bracy Clarke) has published on this subject one of the most in¬ 
genious and remarkable works to be found either in natural his¬ 
tory or physiology ; a small book, which, translated as it is into 
French, ought to be in the hands of every man fond of reflecting 
on the animal economy, and of investigating whatever the horse in 
particular presents to his notice. 
“ For the due performance of its functions the foot requires— 
1st, To be firmly united with the parts it covers and protects; 
2dly, To be elastic, in order to permit the soft parts it incloses to 
expand at the moment of pressure upon the ground without being 
squeezed; 3dly, It requires to grow, in order to renew itself and 
to provide against wear. In a good foot these conditions are found 
united in the highest possible perfection. 
“ The wall of the hoof answers three purposes :—first, it is pro¬ 
tective ; secondly, it furnishes the uniting medium to the soft parts; 
and, lastly, through its admirable disposition not only does it, when 
set upon the ground, favour the expansion of the foot, but likewise 
the impulsion given by muscular force to the body, an operation ob¬ 
served in no other animal save the horse. The laminae resemble 
precisely the plaits covering the under surface of certain species of 
mushrooms. Their number is said to be about 500, and we have, 
from counting them, found this calculation pretty well exact. It 
