Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-10-15
The Hor,es Neck and Bearinr.reips.

Hast thou given the horse strength? Hast
thou clothed his neck with thunder" Who can
De insensible to the magnificent utterances
which, even in a language incapable of render
ing the full beauty of the original tongue, throw
all our modern poetry into the shade. Yet man
seems to think that the Creators idea of the
horses neck was a very imperfect one. and lust
as ne neutrazes by iron shoes the natural elias
ITCHY of the hoof, he by means of various con-
tr1vances renders nugatory the exquisite
mechanism Of the bones, muscles, and liga-
ments from the neck to the shoulder /
wonder whether any Of our readers have ever
thought about the structures which enable
the horse to hold its head up without
fatigue We could not do it, and il We were
placed on all fOurs We should soon find our
heads dropping from sheer fatigue. In order to
see how this is accomplished. We must make a
dissection Of the nOrse's neck. If we place a
hand on the back of our neck and bend the head
forward we shall feel strong ligament. Ifthe
skin be removed from the neck of human
being this ligament is seen to be chord-lke and
not to present any very remarkable popularity
Of structure. In the horse, however, it is de-
velOped into most wonderful elastic mechan-
ism. Lapping over the back Of the neck. it
throws out set of projections, each of which is
fastened to one Of the vertebre of the neck in
such manner that, while it gives support
to that particular vertebra it works stimuli
taneously with the Others. Thus, the ami
NAL can toss or shake its head turn
it round to it's TANKS, or depress
it to its knees. the powerful and highly elastic
ligaments permitting all these movements, and
by their own residence restoring the head and
neck to their normal position when the muscles
are relaxed. The weight of the head and neck
is very considerable. and by their movements
the balance of the body is materially aided. e. g.,
in walking up very steep hill the horse, when
at liberty throws his head and neck well for
ward, SO as to keep the weight as much as pos
sible in front of the fore feet. In descending
the same hill the horse holds his head and neck
as far back as he can, SO as to throw the weight
behind the fore feet. Man, however, is pleased
to fancy that this freedom of &C
ton looks mean and spiritless, and that
horse ought to hold his head
up, no matter whether he is ascending or de-
scending hill, standing still, walking, trotting
or gallOping. His model seems to be the wooden
horse of the toy-shOps and the nearer approach
that he can make to the stiff rigidity Of the toy
horse the better is he pleased. As If to increase
the resemblance, he even cuts the name short,
"hOgs' it, as the expression is so as to make it
look like the strip of fur glued on the neck of
the wooden horse. So. besides the reins, he at
taches to the bit a leathern strip called shear
ing-rein"-I suppose because it is hard for the
horse to bear-and fastens it to the saddle, so as
to render the animal incapable of lowering its
head beyond certain point, according to the
length of the rein. Not content with this. still
more severe instrument was invented. and is
known by the name of the "gag." or Bedouin
bearing-reign.- Reu j. G.. Wood, in Good
Words