POINTS OF THE HORSE

Though you will probably never find just the horse you want for your particular purpose, that is no reason for not knowing something about the ideal horse.

There must be some intelligent and rational notions in regard to a horse if you are to choose one. It is better to know what one wants, and to keep it clear in mind, in this world, even if one never gets it. It is as sure as anything can be that the man who does not know what he wants will not get it.

Probably the best way to know a good horse is to study attentively a fine specimen of harness-horse (Plate IX.), polo pony (Plate VII.), saddle-horse (Plate VIII.), coach-horse, light-harness horse (Plate XIII.), children's pony (Plates XI., XII.), and carry the type in your mind's eye for reference (Plate XXX.).

A man learns to know a good book by years of intelligent study of good books; he comes to know a good picture by seeing the best pictures. The man who has seen champion Lord Lismore knows forever after what an Irish setter ought to look like; the man who has seen Pierre Lorillard's Geneva knows what a light-weight Llewellyn setter ought to look like.

No instrument has been invented which can teach a man to know a good book, a good picture, a good dog, a good horse, or a good woman. No such instrument will ever be invented, and that is what makes life so surprisingly unexpected, interesting, and exciting. We may deplore our ignorance, but it is precisely this which keeps us all alive.

To begin with, then, the head of the ideal horse should be lean, the skin fine, the bones prominent, the muscles well developed, showing the masticating apparatus in good working order. The space between the jaws underneath should be broad and well hollowed out There is a saying that a man should be able to put his clinched fist there, but such a test would require a very unhorsemanlike hand. Remember that a horse breathes through his nose, and that the air passages from nostrils to windpipe always must have space. The windpipe should be large and well defined in its detachment from the neck. It is preferable that his profile should be Grecian, or straight, rather than either concave or convex. He should be broad between the eyes for three reasons: first, because that forehead is the roof over the spaces through which he breathes; second, because to it are attached the muscles by which he opens and shuts his mouth; third, because this space also contains the brain. The eye should not be conspicuously small, denoting trickiness, nor unduly prominent, known among horsemen as the "buck eye," and often denoting defective vision. It should be set well up in the head, and when looked into should not show too much white, and should be clear. The eyelids should be thin and comparatively without wrinkles. The lips should be thin and flexible, and without undue length, either above or below.

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The ears should be lean, and the skin and hair on them fine. A quick, decisive movement of the ears gives an air of readiness and determination and usually implies those qualities. A lop-eared, hanging-lipped animal may turn out useful, just as men with faces like Socrates and Savonarola turned out to be saints; but in buying horses and trusting men it is better to go by general laws than by exceptions.

The head should be set on to the neck to give, what is very hard to describe, but easy to recognize, viz. an appearance as though the neck controlled the head, and not as though head and neck were all of one piece. At this juncture of head and neck the distance between the throat and poll should, as compared with the size of the neck elsewhere, be small.

The shoulders, not only for a saddle-horse, but for the harness-horse as well, should be sloping (Plate VIII.). Put a saddle on half a dozen different horses one after the other and note where the stirrup-leathers fall, i.e. how far behind the fore legs. If you have no other way of knowing whether the horse you are looking at has straight or oblique shoulders, this will tell you infallibly. Remember that about this question of shoulders, as about most other points of the horse, much nonsense is talked by the slovenly omniscient, of whom there is a multitude in the horse world. For though, as a rule, a horse can trot and gallop and walk with straight shoulders, he can do none of these exercises, except the last (that not fast) comfortably to himself with straight shoulders. Remember, in examining the shoulder of a horse, that there is the shoulder-blade and also the short bone (humerus) connecting the shoulder-blade with the upper bone of the leg. This shorter bone slopes backward and downward. The shoulder-blade is the better the more it slants, this shorter bone is the better the less it slants. A good horse, whether saddler, road-horse, or harness-horse, steps from the shoulder, not from the knee. Do not be deceived by the up-and-down action from the knee, which is often taken to mean free and high action. The contrary is true. Such a horse can travel all day on a tinplate.

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The ribs should be well rounded from above to below, should be definitely separated, and of full length. A horse with flat, short ribs near together must, anatomically, be lacking in power. The chest should be deep, but not excessively wide. The depth of the chest measured around should be large. When a horse is pointed out to you as being "well ribbed up," this does not mean that a line drawn from the bottom of his chest along his belly should slope abruptly upward like a greyhound; on the contrary, the loins and back, at the point slightly behind where the cantle of a saddle would come, should be broad, flat, and powerful-looking, and there should be no appearance of being tucked in, or tucked up, at the hinder end of the back and loins. A line drawn around the horse's body from the top of the withers to the elbow-joint, and from the point of the hip to the stifle-joint, would include between them where the horse lives, and this valuable space should be roomy and enclosed in muscular, but elastic, walls. If you put a tape around a well-developed and well-bred polo pony 14.2 in height, around his barrel just behind his fore legs, he will measure 66 to 68 inches; around his barrel just in front of his hind legs 61 to 63 inches. The same measurements for a well-bred horse 15.2 will be from 70 to 73 inches, and from 65 to 67 inches respectively. These are the proportions of an animal "well ribbed up" in the best sense. "Tucked up" or "tucked in" would mean that the measurements are smaller in proportion, behind. In looking over your prospective horse, therefore, see that his body be well rounded out not only in front but also behind, so that the last ribs look to be long, well rounded, and having but a small space—two or three fingers—between themselves and the point of the hip. Depth, shortness, and roundness of body are the essentials (Plate VII.).

As for the legs, the upper bone should be long in proportion to the lower or cannon-bone, and should be large and well supplied with muscle. The elbows should stand out far enough from the body to insure freedom of action. The knee should be wide from side to side, flat in front, and thick from before to behind. The leg just below the knee should not look disproportionately small, or "tied in" as it is called, but should be as large as other parts of the lower limb. The tendons that run down behind the cannon-bone should not adhere closely just below the knee. This bone (cannon-bone) between the knee and the fetlock should be short, straight, and strong. The fetlock—the upper and lower pastern bones—should be of moderate length and neither too sloping nor too straight. Out of a number of horses those with the best pasterns were those who stood the following simple test: Drop a line with a weight on it from the shoulder opposite the middle of the leg; in the case of the perfect pastern the line should end immediately behind the hoof. If the line drops in front of the heels of the hoof, the pastern is too straight; if behind, the pastern is too flexible.

The hoof of the horse corresponds to the claw or nail in other animals, and is made so that it forms a solid, tough, horny case around the expanded end of the toe. This non-sensitive substance renews itself from within as friction and work wear it away.

The feet of the horse should be moderately large, with the heels open and the frogs sound and with no sign of contraction. Big, spreading, awkward-looking feet mean weight to lift, coarse breeding, and usually a dull, heavy disposition. Smallish, round hoofs mean just the contrary.

Behind, the horse should have long and wide hips, with no appearance of raggedness, the stifle and thigh strong and long, and the hind quarters well let down, and not turned in nor turned out. The hind feet should be under the end of the croup, and the hocks and fetlocks should be a little back of a line dropped from the buttocks. The hock should have plenty of bone, be neatly outlined, wide, and thick. The bones below the hock should be flat, the tendons well developed and standing out from the bone, the feet and pasterns as in front.

The dock of the tail should be large and strong. Muscular development there, means proportionate strength all along the spine. The tail should be set on high, and be carried firmly and away from the quarters. A fat, awkward tail is a mark of poor breeding. The tail of the well-bred horse usually tapers off toward the end.

As a well-known Continental breaker and trainer of horses phrases it: "I like a handsome head, long and light neck, prominent withers, short and strong back and loins, long croup, long and oblique shoulders, close coupling between the point of the hip and the last rib, hocks well let down, short cannon-bones, long forearms, and the pasterns fairly long. A horse should be close to the ground, which he will be when the distance from the brisket to the ground will be equal to that from the withers to the brisket. A horse which is high off the ground is generally clumsy in his movements and liable to stumble." An old-time writer on the subject of the horse claims that a good horse should have: three qualities of a woman,—a broad breast, round hips, and a long mane; three of a lion,—countenance, courage, and fire; three of a bullock,—the eye, the nostrils, and the joints; three of a sheep,—the nose, gentleness, and patience; three of a mule,—strength, constancy, and foot; three of a deer,—head, legs, and short hair; three of a wolf,—throat, neck, and hearing; three of a fox,—ear, tail, and trot; three of a serpent,—memory, sight, and turning; and three of a hare or cat,—running, walking, and suppleness.

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Xenophon writes: "The neck should not be thrown out from the chest like a boar's, but like a cock's should rise straight up to the poll and be slim at the bend, while the head, though bony, should have but a small jaw. The neck would then protect the rider, and the eye see what lies before the feet."

One cannot go to buy a horse with a tape-measure, but certain proportions are well enough to keep in mind. The length of the head of a well-proportioned horse is almost equal to the distance: (1) from the top of the withers to the point of the shoulder; (2) from the lowest point of the back to the abdomen; (3) from the point of the stifle to the point of the hock; (4) from the point of the hock to the lower level of the hoof; (5) from the shoulder-blade to the point of the haunch. Two and a half times the length of the head gives: (1) the height of the withers and the height of the croup above the ground, and (2) very nearly the length from the point of the shoulder to the extreme of the buttock (Plate XVIII).

One should never judge a man or a horse by his defects and weaknesses, but rather by his strong points and his general proportions. Any political campaign will teach the absolute impossibility, not to say imbecility, of any or all the candidates; and yet one or another of them is fairly certain to give us a respectable government. Tammany has been known to elect an upright mayor; Reform has been known to elect a weak one. There have been trotters and runners of surprising records with numerous defects of build, and we all have one or more equine paragons in the stable that are for sale at a moderate price.

None the less, there are certain defects which should be constantly kept in mind. They are, beginning at the head: a coarse, heavy head, a thick, short neck, a small, sunken eye, a long back, a hollow back (though there have been good racers with sway-backs), flat sides, too much length between last rib and hind quarters (a mare, as compared with a horse, has, as a rule, a lighter neck, a broader pelvis, is higher behind and slacker in the loins), prominent and bony hips, low at the withers, a shallow chest, fore legs too close together and not straight, very straight or very bent pasterns and hocks, much split up between the quarters, tail put on too low and hanging close to the quarters, flat feet, over-big feet, contracted feet.

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Of the age of a horse, after eight years, only those who have given much time and study to the subject can determine anything very accurately. The receding of the gums and wear and tear of the teeth, of course, are indubitable signs of age. The lower jaw, too, as a horse advances in years, tends to bend outward, making an angle more and more acute rather than an obtuse angle. The cross-sections of the teeth, too, are smaller as the teeth grow up from the gums to supply the parts worn away. Up to the age of six years the age of the horse can be determined fairly accurately, but even then difference in food and care make a marked difference in the wear on the teeth.

The young foal has two and sometimes three temporary molars in each jaw (Plate V.). When about twelve months old another molar appears (Plate V.) which is permanent, and before the completion of the second year a fifth molar, also permanent, appears (Plate V.). Between the age of three and four the mouth is completed with twelve permanent molars in each jaw, or twenty-four in all (Plate V.). The incisors are six in number in each jaw when the mouth is complete, at the age of four. Just back of these, on each side, at the age of four appears a pointed tooth called a tusk (Plate VI.). These tusks are rarely found in mares. The lower jaw of a horse three years old is marked by two permanent teeth in the centre and two milk teeth on either side. Milk teeth are easily distinguished from permanent incisors by their smallness, whiteness, and their more distinct necks. At the age of four the lower jaw has four permanent and one milk tooth on either side. At the age of five there are six permanent teeth and no milk teeth. At the age of six there are six permanent teeth and the corner teeth are filled in the centre. At the age of seven the dark filling in the pit of the two centre teeth disappears (Plate VI.). At the age of eight (Plate VI.) the dark filling disappears from the four centre teeth, and at the age of nine these marks have generally disappeared from all the teeth (Plate VI.). For all practical purposes this measure of the age of the horse is accurate enough, though it is apparent that the nature of the food on which the horse is fed, whether it be hard or soft, makes a difference. Horses, for example, fed upon the fresh food of a farm will retain the marks in the teeth longer than horses grazing upon tough grass. As a rule, in examining a horse's mouth only the lower jaw is looked at. It is well to lift the lips above the upper incisors to see if they are unduly worn—a sure sign of "cribbing."

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What has been written thus far as to the points of the horse may puzzle the amateur owner, for the reason that these points seem to apply to all horses of whatever description. In proper proportions they do. It is only necessary to adapt these measurements and proportions to the kind of a horse we want, remembering always the well-known law, that muscles and bones of speed are long and slender, and those of strength are short and thick. A pony 14 hands 2 inches, capable of carrying 200 odd pounds, and a three-quarters bred polo pony of the same size, but wanted for speed and quickness, would naturally enough not look alike, but the general relation of the parts to one another would be the same; and in looking at one for a weight-carrier and at the other for speed, you should bear in your mind's eye the same distinct principles of what constitutes a good horse and what a bad one.

If you are looking for a horse for your runabout, or for a horse for a heavy station-wagon, one should be lighter, cleaner-built perhaps, quicker, and livelier than the other; but it is a grave mistake to suppose that the same remarks about head, neck, back, legs, feet, and so on do not apply with equal pertinency to the one as to the other. Remembering always that weight is of great help in pulling a load,—a horse with a heavy man on his back can pull a big load up a hill that without the weight on his back he could scarcely move,—the other general definitions of what constitute a good horse apply to all classes. A straight-shouldered horse is less noticeable and less uncomfortable in harness than under saddle; a slab-sided, ragged-hipped, goose-rumped animal well covered with heavy harness in a brougham is less offensive than under saddle, but such an one is a poor specimen wherever he is.

The ideal way, however, to cultivate an eye for a horse is to study his make-up externally and internally from the plates of the skeleton and the internal parts (Plates XVI. and XVII.); to bear in mind what his ancestry is; to note the relation of the parts to one another, and the position of his various organs; to study carefully the dispositions, abilities, strength, and weaknesses of the horses that you know well; and to come to your conclusions with this knowledge and experience in the back of your brain. To be able to gabble off the points of a horse memoriter avails about as much as to know the letters of the alphabet avails to write one of Rossetti's sonnets. Even then you will make mistakes; but to enjoy the sport of owning and using horses, either in harness or under saddle, one cannot know too much, either theoretically or practically.

Although this volume is included in a library on sport, it should never be forgotten that in dealing with every branch of sport, particularly where live animals are trained and used by the sportsman, a very serious ethical element enters. No man who knows nothing about horses, no matter how charitable he may be, no matter how ecclesiastically regular he may be, no matter how conspicuously tender-hearted he may be to children, insects, and the poor, has any business on a horse or behind a horse. First, because he is almost invariably cruel to the horse; and secondly, because he is endangering the lives of other people. How often I have seen Piety in the saddle, sawing the tender bars of the horse's mouth, and sliding back and forth from pommel to cantle of the saddle, excoriating the tender skin and flesh beneath. How often I have seen Philanthropy and Worth driving horses with cruel bearing-reins, traces too long, pole-straps too tight, coupling-reins of the same length for the long-necked and the short-necked horse, belly-band tight and girth loose, bit too wide, nose-band flapping up and down, and breeching too tight or too loose. Little did Philanthropy and Worth realize that these things were as uncomfortable to the horse as tight shoes, trousers too long, coats too small, collars too tight, and a toothache and headache to them. It is because sport has been handled in this country to such a large extent by the professional and by the uncultivated, that its prime value as a teacher of practical and economic morality has been overlooked.

Above all things, do not imagine that, because you own one or more horses and stroke their necks occasionally, that you know a horse when you see one. Such knowledge does not come by cutaneous friction nor by money. A wise man has three attributes always; he may have more, but he must have these: (1) he is never afraid to ask questions; (2) he is thankful for the many things he does not want; (3) he knows when he does not know things. Therefore, ask questions and make no pretence. The most ill-informed man I ever met is one who has never failed to answer every question asked him, and who never asks one himself. It is needless to say that he is a failure in his profession, a bore socially, and an encyclopÆdia of voluble misinformation.