Neck, s. The part between the neck and the body; a long narrow part.
The neck should form from the head to the withers, an elegant but moderate curve, with which it should unite with a very moderate depression only; while its under surface ought to be but very slightly incurvated, and should enter the chest rather above the point of his shoulders. A large prominent windpipe adds to the perfection of the lower surface of the neck. In point of length, it is of consequence that the neck be duly proportioned. The long neck, when thin withal, seldom presents a firm or proper resistance against the pressure of the bit. When, on the contrary, the neck is too short, the head is frequently ill placed, and the lever in the hand of the rider will be also too short. Such necks are often likewise weighty, and overloaded with flesh. It is evident, also, that such cannot be reined up without danger of suffocation; and it is seldom that a short-necked horse is speedy. When the upper surface of the neck is thick and heavy, it is a very strong presumption of a sluggish disposition, particularly in geldings and mares. In stallions, it is a distinctive sexual mark, and hence less to be depended on. Now and then, the neck is arched downwards, which is called ewe-necked. When the deformity is considerable, it prevents the head from being carried in its true angle; instead of which, the nose, from being projected upwards and forwards, has occasioned such horses to be called stargazers; to remedy which, it is usual to draw the head down by a martingal. In the horse, as well as in all the grazing tribes, the length of the well proportioned neck is such, that, adding to it the angle resulting from the head, the length of both is equal to the height of the shoulders from the ground. It may not, also, be amiss to mention, that, in the purchase of a horse, it is prudent to observe whether the upper part of the neck bears any marks of a tight collar having been worn: when such an appearance does exist, it commonly arises either from a strap worn to prevent the action of crib-biting, or such a horse is apt to unloose himself, which is almost an equal defect.—Blaine.
Needle, s. A small instrument pointed at one end to pierce cloth, and perforated at the other to receive the thread; the small steel bar which, in the mariner’s compass, stands regularly north and south.
Neigh, v. To utter the voice of a horse.
Neigh, s. The voice of a horse.
Nerve, s. The nerves are the organs of sensation passing from the brain to all parts of the body; it is used by the poets for sinew or tendon.
Neurotomy.—A question has arisen how far a horse that has undergone the operation of the division of the nerve of the leg, and has recovered from the lameness with which he was before affected, and stands his work well, may be considered to be sound. In our opinion there cannot be a doubt about the matter. Does the operation of neurotomy render a horse as capable of work as he was before he became affected with the disease on account of which, and to relieve him from the torture of which, the nerve was divided? Is the operation of neurotomy so invariably followed by capability, and continued capability of ordinary and even extraordinary work, that they may regularly be considered as cause and effect? The most strenuous defenders of the nerve operation cannot affirm this. They can only say that they partially succeed in almost every fair case,—that they perfectly succeed in the majority of cases; but they cannot deny that the horse will batter and bruise that foot, when he has lost sensation in it, which should have been tenderly used; that even the hoof will sometimes be lost, after operations performed with the greatest judgment; that the lameness will sometimes return, after the animal has gone sound, one, two, or three years; and that, after all, there is a little unpleasantness, and even unsafeness in the action of the horse, from the peculiar manner in which the foot meets the ground when its feeling is destroyed; and that the horse is more liable to accidents, for he will travel on without warning his rider of the evil, after a piece of glass has penetrated his foot, or a stone has insinuated itself between the sole and the shoe; and thus irreparable mischief will be done, before the cause of it can possibly be detected. A horse on whom this operation has been performed may be improved—may cease to be lame, may go well for many years; but there is no certainty of his continuing to do so, and he is unsound.
Poiet.—These, as well as the omens of death watches, dreams, &c., are for the most part founded upon some accidental coincidences; but spilling of salt on an uncommon occasion may, as I have known it, arise from a disposition to apoplexy, shown by an incipient numbness of the hand, and may be a fatal symptom; and persons dispirited by bad omens sometimes prepare the way for evil fortune, for confidence in success is a great means of ensuring it.
I knew a man of very high dignity, who was exceedingly moved by these omens, and who never went out shooting without a bittern’s claw fastened to his button-hole by a riband.