332 THE CONDITION OF HUNTERS 



comes " tucked up " or " washy " in appearance. 

 When selecting a hunter the intending buyer must 

 fix his eyes upon the shoulders, not only whilst the 

 horse is at rest, but also when jumping, as good 

 shoulder action is one of — if not the most important 

 points in a hunter. In action it must be free and full, 

 yet fine withal ; because if the shoulders are logged 

 up with muscles (heavy shoulders), the free action 

 of the joint is interfered with, thus preventing the 

 animal from freely bending itself at the jumps. 



Width of chest is not requisite, and often means 

 bulky shoulders. 



Arms strong and powerful ; fore-arms of good 

 breadth above, ending below in broad-jointed, clean- 

 cut knees, not necessarily without a blemish ; in fact, 

 some of the best hunters have the so-called " banged " 

 knee or knees, which, unless it interferes with the 

 animal's utility, is merely a blemish, and ought not 

 to be allowed to handicap a clever horse in relation 

 to sale, though blemishes usually call for a slight 

 reduction in the price. A stiff knee is certainly 

 detrimental, so also is a low daisy-cutting action, as 

 such horses have no power to freely flex and extend 

 their joints during the leap. 



The cannons, fetlocks, and feet demand special 

 examination. The so-called " clean " legs are in- 

 dispensable, and every horseman knows the meaning 

 of this term, which implies skin, bone, and tendon, 

 felt — or seen and felt. If a hunter's legs are of this 

 description there is little fear that they will fill up 

 after a heavy day's work. 



