Volume 31, Plate XXXI / Mammalia (Mammals)

Head of Hungarian Horse

Among the Tahtar and Hungarian horses it was formerly the custom to slit the nostrils, dividing the septum, in the belief that it eased breathing during violent galloping and prevented the animals neighing. Though several English writers discredit the practice and no instance had been witnessed, a finished sketch by the celebrated Zoffani fully displays the operation upon a Hungarian horse’s head.