416 THE HORSE 



to be so conspicuously marked out for rejection. It is 

 far better to select the best and put them in a batch for 

 further inspection, and then send the others out in a body 

 together. If the class is a very large one — and I have 

 assisted to judge a class of 236 at Dublin — the most feasible 

 plan is to divide it into large batches, and after selecting 

 eight or ten from one batch, and a similar number from the 

 others, to send away all the remainder, and have only 

 twenty or so remaining from which to make a final selection. 

 In this way nothing which is good is likely to get over- 

 looked — which sometimes has been alleged to happen in 

 a large class. It is a great pleasure to have as a co-judge a 

 pleasant-mannered, good fellow, who knows the business ; 

 but with a rough, overbearing, rather ignorant person, it 

 is very unpleasant at times. 



Until I retired from judging I much preferred judging by 

 myself, and bearing all praise or blame on my own shoulders, 

 to running the risk of having to share the latter with 

 another, at whose door it possibly chiefly lay. For ofttimes 

 it is a case of judges differing, and then either a compromise 

 must be effected, or a referee called in. 



Many a horse at the minor Shows does not do itself 

 justice in the ring for want of proper training beforehand, 

 and will neither walk, trot, nor canter in a satisfactory 

 manner. This is usually due to the excitement produced 

 by the novel conditions ; and care should be taken before- 

 hand to accustom the animal to being amongst a crowd of 

 strange horses and people, to hear bands play, and to 

 disregard all kinds of strange noises. Agricultural horses 

 especially should have a course of lessons at the walk, and 

 trot, and be taught to stand squarely on their legs, for the 

 best judges will have nothing to do with an animal who 

 stands with its fore-legs and hind-legs stretched as far 

 apart as possible, in the style so beloved by grooms of that 

 class. It is then impossible to see if the hocks are properly 

 placed under the body, or standing away from it ; while the 

 position tends to give a false impression of the body in 

 general being too hght. The groom in charge should learn 

 the pace which his horse should not exceed at a walk, if he 



