HACKNEY. 
OR ROAD HORSE. 
? 
Like the race Horse and the hunter, the Hacknry or Roap Horse is obtained by 
judicious breeding, and is said by Mr. Youatt to be “more difficult to find than even 
the hunter or the courser. There are several faults that may be overlooked in the 
hunter, but which the Road Horse must not have. The former may start, may be 
awkward in his walk or even his trot, he may have thrushes or corns ; but if he can go a 
good slapping pace, and has wind and bottom, we can put up with him and prize him. 
But the Hackney, if he is worth having, must have good fore legs and good hinder ones 
too; he must be sound on his feet, even-tempered, no starter, quiet in whatever situation 
he may be placed, not heavy in hand, and never disposed to fall on his knees. A 
Hackney is far more valuable for the pleasantness of his paces and his safety, good 
temper and endurance, than for his speed. We rarely want to go more than eight or ten 
miles an hour, and on a journey not more than six or seven. The fast Horses, and 
especially the fast trotters, are not even in their paces, and although they may perform 
very extraordinary feats, are disabled and worthless when the slower Horse is in his prime.” 
The same author, to whose valuable work on the Horse the reader is referred as 
a treasury of valuable information, proceeds to observe that pure blood is disadvantageous 
to a Hackney, as it gives small hoofs, slender legs, and a long stride, each of which 
qualities would be hurtful on the hard stony road. There should, however, be a spice of 
high breeding in the animal, the amount to be regulated by the country in which it lives 
and the work which it has to perform. 
When properly managed and kindly treated, the Hackney is a most intelligent 
animal, displaying a singularly excellent memory. This extraordinary memory of the 
Horse has often proved serviceable to its owner, and in many instances has been made 
