For this reason, the definition of proportions, considered from a general point of view, their signification, their function and their utility, are questions which it would be superfluous to enter upon here. We will content ourselves by calling to mind that the common measure chosen by preference is the length of the head, and that, ordinarily, it is with it that we compare the dimensions of other parts. Among the animals whose structure we have examined, there is one of which the proportions deserve to be marked in preference to every other: this is the horse. Wherefore this preference? In the first place, it is because of the overwhelming position which this animal occupies in the artistic representation of quadrupeds; that it is more frequently associated with man; that, notwithstanding its division into different races, its general proportions may be referred to a special type. It is also because the indications relative to these proportions will suffice to show the way which the artist must follow in order to find for himself, at the time when the necessity for it arises, the proportions which characterize the other animals. Our intention is not, in connection with the subject which now occupies us, to enter into a deep discussion on the various opinions which have been set forth. We desire, above all, to give some indications which, from the practical point of view, can be utilized in the representation of the horse, and at the beginning to demonstrate the advantages of these indications. Now, there is a fact which we have had occasion to note; it is the following: almost invariably, when a person who is little accustomed to represent the horse, or not previously informed of certain proportions of lengths, begins to draw from nature, the error generally committed is that of making the head too small and the body too long. Is it a preconceived idea which is the cause that one regards them in this manner? Perhaps. At all events, certain artists who have made the representation of horses their special study have even had this habit. It is therefore necessary to be informed of the proportions; this is the object of the study which we are now undertaking.