44 THE ACTION OF HORSES. 



leg, or what the London people call knee-up action, 

 has nothing to do with a horse going safe on the road. 

 It is not on the taking up of the foot, but on the 

 putting of it down that the safety of a horse's action 

 depends. When I try a horse, with a view of purchas- 

 ing for a hack, my trial is a short one. I get upon his 

 back, and, loosing his head, let him walk a hundred 

 yards on the footpath. If nature has designed him 

 to stick his toe into the ground instead of putting 

 it down quite flat (in which way alone he can go 

 safely), he will do so two or three times before he goes 

 that distance. There are httle undulations neces- 

 sarily in every road which are scarcely perceptible, 

 but which for that reason will immediately show 

 this sort of action. If, on the other hand, he walks 

 smoothly over, without touching it, I try his other 

 paces, and, if I like them, I have no reason to fear 

 his tumbling down." Horses with high action, 

 necessarily, are more liable to suffer the effects of 

 concussion than animals having it in a moderate 

 degree. They do not wear as long, and such diseases 

 as splint, side-bone, etc., are frequently met with in 

 this class of animal. It is an essential action for 

 the show ring, but it is no use for a horse to have 

 high action in front, and low action behind. In fact, 

 good hock action is more important than good knee 



