Artistic Anatomy of Animals Part 33

[48] That is, a ninth of the length of the head.

_The thickness of the fore-limb close to the knee_ in its narrowest part.

_The thickness of the posterior pasterns_, viewed laterally.

15. =The height from the elbow to the fold of the knee= (L) is the same as:

_The height from this same fold to the earth._

_The height from the patella to the fold of the ham._

_The height from the fold of the ham to the crown._

16. =The sixth part of this measure= (M) gives:

_The width of the canon of the fore-limb_, viewed laterally, in the middle of its length.

_The fetlock_, viewed from the front.

17. =The third of this same measure= (N) is very nearly equal to:

_The width of the ham_, from the fold to the point.

18. =A fourth of this measure= (O) gives:

_The width of the knee_, measured laterally.

_The length of the knee._

19. =The interval between the eyes from one great angle to the other= (P) equals:

_The width of the hind-leg_, viewed laterally, from the cleft of the b.u.t.tocks to the inferior part of the tuberosity of the tibia.

20. =One-half of this interval between the eyes= (1/2 P) gives:

_The width of the posterior canon-bone_, viewed laterally.

_The width of the fetlock of the fore-limb_, from its anterior summit to the root of the spur.

Finally, the difference of the height of the crupper with respect to the summit of the withers.

It is certain that the multiplicity of these proportions, and above all the exaggeration of details into which Bourgelat fell in indicating certain of the measures which const.i.tute the bases of some of them, may repel the reader.

For this cause we desire to add to the preceding, and also because the question which we are treating would be incomplete without it, the results obtained and published by other more modern authors, and in particular by Colonel Duhousset.[49]

[49] E. Duhousset, 'Le Cheval,' Paris, 1881.

This author, one of whose constant occupations is the measurement of the different regions of the horse, has the incontestable merit of having drawn attention to this question, and of having strained all his energies in the propagation of the knowledge which until then was little diffused. Among the proportions which he recommends, there are some which are the result of his own observations; whilst others, which he has verified and adopted, are the result of a judicious selection of those given by Bourgelat, which we have just reproduced in the preceding pages.

We join thereto also certain indications furnished by MM. A. Goubeaux and G. Barrier,[50] distinguishing these latter by the initials (G. and B.) of their authors (Fig. 107).

[50] Armand Goubeaux and Gustave Barrier, 'De l'exterieure du Cheval,'

Paris, 1882.

=The length of the head almost exactly equals=:

1. Depth from the back to the belly, N, O,[51] the thickness of the body.[52]

[51] Look for the points indicated by these letters on Fig. 107, which is related to the proportions which are here discussed.

[52] The proportion previously indicated by Bourgelat (see p. 265, paragraph 3).

2. From the summit of the withers to the point of the arm, H, E.

3. From the superior fold of the stifle to the point of the ham, J', J.

4. From the point of the ham to the ground, J, K.

5. From the dorsal angle of the scapula to the point of the haunch, D, D.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 107.--PROPORTIONS OF THE HORSE (AFTER COLONEL DUHOUSSET).]

6. From the pa.s.sage of the girth to the fetlock, M, I, or higher in large horses and racers; to the middle of the fetlock or lower for small ones and those of medium size.

7. From the superior fold of the stifle to the summit of the crupper in those specimens whose c.o.xo-femoral angle is very open. This distance is always much less in others (G. and B.).[53]

[53] A proportion relative to the same region, and which at the outset might appear similar, is pointed out by Bourgelat (see p. 266, paragraph 4). But there exists a difference, for Bourgelat compared the length of the head, measured from the forelock to the commissure of the lips, and not that of the entire head, to the distance which separates the summit of the rump and the tip of the patella.

=Two and a half times the length of the head= gives:

1. The height of the withers, H, above the ground.[54]

[54] This proportion is that given by Bourgelat (see p. 265, paragraph 2).

2. The height of the summit of the crupper above the ground.[55]

[55] Consequently the withers and the crupper, being the same height, are situated on the same horizontal plane. Bourgelat, on the contrary, points out a difference of level in connection with these regions. According to him the summit of the crupper is situated below the horizontal plane pa.s.sing the withers, and this distance equals half of the s.p.a.ce which separates the great angle of one eye from that of the other (see p. 269, paragraph 20).

3. Very often the length of the body, from the point of the arm to that of the b.u.t.tock, although for a long time the type of Bourgelat had been set aside as a conventional model, short and ma.s.sive.[56]

[56] See p. 265, paragraph 2.

And M. Duhousset adds to this:

'The drawing that we offer, which has two heads and a half in height and length, is that of a horse which we frequently meet with' (see Fig. 107; see also p. 279, where we again consider this question of the length of the body of the horse).

'The crupper, from the point of the haunch to that of the b.u.t.tock, D, F, is always less than that of the head. This difference varies from 5 to 10 centimetres. The width of the crupper, from one haunch to the other, often very slightly exceeds its length.' MM. Goubeaux and Barrier add that frequently it equals it.[57]