Fig. 112.—Horse of which the Length contains more than Two and a Half Times that of the Head, and of which this Dimension (A, B) exceeds the Height.
Indeed, in this case, if we except the neck and the head, the body, inasmuch as its height and its length are equal, may be inscribed in a square, of which one of the sides corresponds to the withers and to the summit of the crupper, two of the other sides to the point of the arm and to that of the buttock the fourth being represented by the ground. This is simple, but this simplicity even has its inconveniences.
It follows that this proportion, thus expressed, seems to exclude from every artistic representation certain categories of horses, which upon the whole might be regarded as beautiful, and the existence of which in any case it would be a pity not to indicate.
Fig. 113.—Horse of which the Length contains more than Two and a Half Times that of the Head, and of which this Dimension (A, B) exceeds the Height.
Let us examine at the outset that which is relative to the length of the body, equal to two and a half times the length of the head. This proportion is sometimes met with, and therefore may be considered exact; but it is necessary to add that its existence is not discoverable in the majority of cases. That for some authors it constitutes a perfect model we will not gainsay, but it is our impression that, when it exists, the head appears a little large, or, more exactly, the body a little short.
Without attaining exactly to three times the length of the head, as some authors (Saint-Bel, Vallon) have announced, the body of the horse, nevertheless, measured as is stated above, frequently contains it more than two and a half times. We give in support of this some outline reproductions, executed after photographs ([Figs. 112], [113], [114]).