92 THE HORSE. 



this view of the case, it must be evident that the 

 length of the back is a matter of considerable import- 

 ance. I have come to the conclusion that a horse, no 

 matter for what pui-pose he is intended, should not have 

 an extremely long back. 



The cart-horse requii-es a short back, to enable him 

 to sustain his load ; and the long-backed hunter will 

 be sure to give up in heavy land during a long mn. 

 Just imagine a long-backed carter bending under a ton 

 and a-half, or a long-backed hunter ploughing through 

 wet land, with fifteen stone up, during a sharp bui'st 

 of eight or ten miles ! Let us not go, however, from 

 one extreme to another, by choosing a horse whose 

 back would be covered by an ordinary-sized saddle. 

 Of the two extremes, this is, perhaps, the worst. An 

 animal thus foimed could not possibly have speed, or 

 ease of motion. His hind-feet would be in constant 

 danger of catching on his fore-shoes dming the gallop 

 or trot. He would likely have recourse to what is 

 called " forging," and he would also run a good chance 

 of getting his feet entangled in such a way as to cause 

 a regular capsize, if going on deep, sticky ground. 

 This would be still more certain to occur, if his back 

 were elevated in the middle, which is a point of great 

 defonnity. 



" We never can know," says Hany Hieover, " under 

 what weight a horse can go, but by trying him. We 

 may, in a general way, form a tolerably correct guess 



