Connecticut western news., 1872-04-12

A Chapter on the Horse.

A Chapter on the Horse.
 The following description of the sev- eral parts of horse, and the recom- mendations as to the choice of different animals for any given kind of work can not fail to be interesting to every man who owns and drives horse, and will in some measure enable each to choose for himself, with some degree of certainty and satisfaction -. -4: .--a
 The head of every horse should be small, but not out of proportion with the rest of his body. A large, coarse head is defect in every persons eye, and it has no advantages to compensate for it's de formity. The head of the well bred horse possesses breadth and fullness in parts where capacity is needed. It is so clean" that everywhere subcutane- ous veins and muscles may be distin- guished through the skin. The muzzle should be fine, and of moderate length, the mouth invariably deep, for receiving and retaining the bit, and the lips rath- CT thin and firmly compressed. A fine, tight lip is pretty sure indication of an active temperament, and consequently affords measure of the energy and dur ability of the animal. The nostrils should be large, so as to be capable of allowing the air to have free access to the lungs. Capacious lungs would be of no use, if the erifce which connects them with the necessary external at mosphsre was so contracted that they could not become properly filled. The muzzle ought to be fine good way up, and the parts above should enlarge sud- denly, in o 'der to give plenty of width to the lower jaw, as we'll as thickness from side to side. This is a point of great beauty, as 1t gives breadth of jaw and expansion from eye to eye, while the fneness of the head is generally maintained. The space between the two blades of the underjaw ought to be broad and deep, so as to admit the neck and prevent pressure on the windpipe when the head is fexed. The face, on side view, should be straight, or very little concave; it should De broad be- tween the eyes, but should taper little toward the ears. 'Fa= er xaH5srt
 The eye of the horse should be kindly, strong, bold, fearless, yet gentle looking. often indicates vicious disposition A horse which exposes the white of the leye when looking backward, is generally
 
 be trusted with his heels. sf,. e"zA9s1
 The ears are good index to the tenn per of the horse. They act as sort of telegraph of his will. They give us a warning of his intentions, and often en- able us, when the animal is malevolent, to prevent their execution. Horsemen generally prefer ears that are small and situated not too far apart. They should | I>A1 md animation and expression to the head, and endurance. aEa- ;.- .,
 In all horses the neck should be fine arched-looking where it joins the head. Firmness in this locality adds greatly tc the beauty of the horse, and generally ing. The setting-on of the head and to project little forward; still it must not be pushed so far forward as tc constitute C star gazer.", .,....... s
 The chest is bounded in front by the neck, on each side by the ribs anc shoulde1r-bladees, below by the breas! bone, above by the spine, and behind by the diaphragnl which separates il from the bowels. i A line drawn from the region of the kidneys, immediately behind the saddle-seat, and terminating at short distance behind the girths al the breast bone,1 will point out, with tolerable accuthcy, the position of the diaphragm It is @ large expansion o: muscular tissue, and stretches across
 from side to side, in such way as tt completely separate the body into twe great cavities. By it's motion back
 wards and forwards either of these cavities can be lessened or enlarged a, circumstances may require. The large cavity called the chest, which inter
 venes between the boundaries specified
 is occupied almost entirely by the hear and lungs. The lungs are very elastic and are capable of being greatly col , lapsed or distended at certain period t during the process of respiration. Tn,
 shape and size of the chest are matter of no trifing importance, as they in { great measure govern the condition O. the lungs. In every instance the ches 7 should be large and capacious, but it
 exact shape may vary a little, accord 3 ing to the purpose for which the horse is required. In the animal for slo1 3 work and heavy draught it may ap ! proach toward the circular form Ii < proportion as we pass from the draugh
 horse, through the different degrees c I speed up to the racer, in the same pro portion must the depth of chest, whe , compared with, it's roundness, increase ! The carriage horse should have roun and deep chest The roadster, trottin
 horse and saddle horse still deeper, an the racers should be shaped like grey , bound, at the same time preserving fair proportion of breadth. Depth c a chest is indispensable for speed con 5 bined with distance.