27 



CHAPTEE IV. 



CHOOSING. 



We now come to tlie last, and practically the best, 

 method of determining a horse's shoulders and action. 



I have put it last for this reason, that you can 

 always look at a horse if you have the opportunity of 

 riding it, but it often happens that you can see a horse 

 without being able to ride it or even see it ridden. 



In buying a horse at a crowded auction, for 

 instance, you practically have to form your opinion 

 of it as you see it standing. You cannot, of course, 

 see an unbroken horse with a saddle and bridle on ; 

 while it may often happen that you have an oppor- 

 tunity of seeing a horse ridden (in the hunting-field 

 or on a racecourse, for instance) when it would not 

 be convenient for you to ride it yourself ; but when 

 you have the opportunity, you can form the best 

 judgment by getting on them yourself. 



I will here quote what 'Nimrod,' the author of "The 

 Turf, the Chase, and the Eoad,' says on this head in 

 one of his works. He says : ' When I wish to judge 

 of a horse's action I require to do nothing more than 



