162 TEN YEAES IN SWEDEN. 



Horses are dear in Sweden,, and certainly would never 

 pay for importing to England, except in extraordinary 

 instances. Fifteen pounds is about the price of a useful 

 country nag, such as we should see in a butcher's or green- 

 grocer's cart in England, but without the style. The Swedes, 

 however, are not an equestrian nation, and riding on 

 horseback is not fashionable here, for except among the 

 military, or an occasional town swell, you rarely see a 

 Swedish gentleman " outside a horse." The military seat 

 is in vogue, and as there is no racing or cross country 

 work in this country, when you do see a man riding, he 

 always appears to be trying to distress and take as much 

 out of his horse as he can. Our firm, neat, short, English 

 cross country seat and style of riding, where the rider 

 tries to save his horse as much as possible, is not under- 

 stood, and of course not being understood is ridiculed. 

 One of these stiff bumping style of riders always appears 

 to me to be doing a bit of penance, and in a great state of 

 misery. 



I never saw what we should consider a real good trotter 

 in Sweden, and although they brag much of the Norwegian 

 horses, I do not believe there are many, if they were fairly 

 timed, that could do an English mile, even running (for they 

 do not trot fairly), under the three minutes. It is true that 

 " Rattler " was imported into England from Sweden, but he 

 was brought first from America to Gothenburg. I have 

 seen in print, that the best Norwegian trotters have been 

 red. " Slepnar Varg," who trotted 1200 feet in thirty-five 

 seconds, and " Myers Rappo " were red. " Erick Milvolds," a 

 stallion, which trotted 1800 feet in sixty- two seconds, was 

 red ; and also " Valders Trafuare," which in 1835, was sold to 

 a Swede for 500 specie dollars (2000 rqr. Swedish), was red; 

 and afterwards sold, they say, which I much doubt, to Louis 

 Napoleon for 30,000 francs. One Norwegian mile is equal 

 to seven English miles and eighty yards, and 100 Norwegian 

 pounds to 112 English. Thirty and three-twenty-thirds 

 Norwegian feet are equal to thirty-one English. Now 

 assuming that these distances were correctly measured and 



