ENGLISH BREEDS 147 



of horses which are recognized in England, it is desirable that a short 

 space should be devoted to tlie Saddle horse — not necessarily as regards 

 his breeding, but so far as his structural development and qualities ai-e 

 concerned. In so far as a breed of Saddle horses is concerned, there is 

 nothing of the sort in this country, though in America breeders have 

 made one. 



In the first place, perhaps the most essential point of all is to secure 

 good manners, as no matter how excellent a Hack may be in other ways, 

 he will never be a safe, whilst he will often be a very dangerous, ride, 

 if through vice, bad breaking, or some other cause, he is not to be 

 depended upon to answer his bit, or be easily controlled by the slightest 

 touch of the rein. After manners the question of shoulders in the riding- 

 horse is a subject for the gravest consideration of those who have to 

 judge him, as a short-, straight-, or heavy -shouldered animal can never 

 be expected to move at any of his paces as smoothly as one whose 

 shoulders are long, obliquely placed, and free from lumber. " No shoulder 

 no saddle horse", is an expression made use of by a hard-riding and 

 practical Yorkshire gentleman, who most truthfully maintains that no 

 matter how good a Hack's legs and feet may be, if his shoulders are 

 faulty he will be a sorry mount for anyone. Of course it would be most 

 foolish to ignore the importance of the legs and feet of a Hack or any 

 other horse, and so it should be a subject of care to a judge to note that 

 the arms of the animal he is looking over are big, the knees large and 

 properly placed — not standing back or over — the bone between them and 

 the pasterns short and flat, with nice springy sloping pasterns terminating 

 in sound, properly-shaped feet. The importance of a good pastern is 

 great when the horse is to be used for saddle work, as if the pasterns 

 are too short or straight the animal is not so well calculated to preserve 

 his balance if he stumbles, whilst he will certainly be a rough-actioned 

 Hack. 



The head of the typical Hack should be breedy-looking and small, 

 with neat ears, fair-sized eyes — a pig eye looks very objectionable through 

 a bridle — and an elegant muzzle with large nostrils, the jowl being 

 moderately deep, but in no respects heavy, and the forehead wide. 

 This sort of head, if set upon a delicate and slightly arched neck, which 

 widens as it nears the shoulders, is always attractive; and it must be 

 borne in mind that a short, thick, heavy neck is an abomination in a 

 Hack. 



The withers should be fairly high, and, like the shoulders, sloping, 

 so as to assist in keeping the saddle in its place. There should be a 

 nice depth of chest, but at this point extreme width is not required. 



