The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1861-01-26
Form of the Horse.

Head moderately long and free from hrsh
with nCstrils large and wide lips thin and
close, eyes large, full and clear: ears small
| and pointed, and when the horse is in motion,
kept playing, dcncting that as he is feeling
well he .akes pleasure in noticing. Bv the
ear we can tell what his thoughts are, whether
vicious, playful, or frightened, he car to
the horse, as the tail to the dog, is an index
Of their thoughts,
The neck rather long than otherwise, and
of sufficient strength to support the head
which, If not, the horse is very apt to be
stumbler. Let it be well Joined to he head
and shoulder. Windpipe large, and not too
! closely confined to the neck so as to pervent
free circulation Of air.
The shoulder santlng, so as to relieve the
horse OF the jar ofhis weight-thiS jar causing
corns, Spiintcrs etc. The slantng shoulder
facilitates speed for example, the comparison
between an iron and rubber ball if YOU let
fall the iron ball it rebounds but little, while
the rubber ball continues to rebound thus
the slanting shoulder rebounds from the
ground, willie the straight shoulder tries to
combat with the weight. For the draught
horse the straight shoulder is better, as it
enables him to throw his weight into the
collar, thereby pulling his load forward,
while the slanting shoulder pulls, not only
forward, but also upward which, as he is not
strong enough TO lift the weight by his shout.
der, he works, as d:aught horse to great
disadvantage.
The back short and straight for strength,
bat long underneath, to admit OF long stride.
Ribs round, not slab-sided, with plenty of
room between the last rib and hip. bone
l know this is contrary to the opinion gener-
ally expressed by writers, Of having their
horses well ribbed home. as denotng cndur-
ance. II by endurance they mean :" fat"
they are right: but if they mean to do GER
tam number of miles in quick time without
distress, they are wrong. Flora and Patchen
are not ribbed home. neither are any Of our
| hrst'class horses. To be ribbed home pre-
vents long stride. without which horse
can not be fast. do not wish the rib to
sink in, but still | wish it to be afraid Of the
hipbone. Broad across the lons and long
haurch Great reliance is placed by some in
the feeling Of the tail if il gives readily to
the touch he Is considered Of good disposition,
if not, of bad. | have seen horses of easy
tails, of most uneasy disposition. The tail
has four cords two underneath to lower it
| and two above to raise it so by cutting the
lower Cords the horse has but little power
to keep his tail down, the upper keeping it
elevated to an angle of lorty-iive degrees. -
The ncklng, if done we'll, gives him All easy
tall-if not, otherwise.
Have the chest deep in front and behind the
fore-arms, giving the lungs and heart plenty Of
room to play in. Not too broad in front, as
it makes him stradd.e, aud prevents a long,
qnck step. The leg long in the forearm, as
the muscles lie there, and let them be large
| and hard; but below that the shorter the
better, as the cannon bone consists Of cords,
and the shorter the cord the stronger. Cam
non bone fat. The leg straight in font, to
prevent it turning inwardly and cutting the
other leg, and also from turning ontwardly
and padding. Let him stand straight upon
them if too far under, it receives too much
of the weight making him . &nee.sprang,"
| and also confines the action Of the leg, so
| that he can not throw it well out IN front, and
if too far front, it also confines the action and
does not reach, when strding, far enough
back to receive weight and carry.t forward
Pastern long, bending to relieve the weight,
and broad. lloof high, open heel, prominent
frog, full bars, and coEcave sole. The hind
leg long from the hip to the hook. and well
bent, on account Of muscular power. Hooks
large and strong bow hooked denotes weak.
ness. although PAGERS generally.a are built so:
~ aiso prevents tHe leOs moving III sti"SAt
| line
Have the leg straight; il not, the work
comes mostly on one side of the cords, and it
also wears upon one side Of the foot | think
one great reason Of cur horses being so de-
formed in their legs is that when coils their
feet are left to -" lrck.' and if they wear down
one side it tends gradually TO make the leg
bend that way, and instead of seeing straight
hoof around cornet, we find it higher one
side than the other. never to be cured.
See that he does not interfere behind, and
if for speed, have him throw his front legs
well out, and his hind legs well under him
also have the hind legs open wide enough to
clear the front feet, and step over from three
to five feet. II he does this, and "go'hers "
quick, he will make not only a fast one, but
good road horse, which is more to be desired.
The above description will apply to a
draught horse, except he must be coarser
built, with straight shoulder, straight pas
terms, as he does not stand in need of being
relieved Of the jar. as he hardly ever is off Of
a walk. 1t matters little how he moves his
| limbs provided he does not cut himself and