90 FORMATION 



The neck must be strong, the shoulders long, com- 

 pact, and well covered with muscle. The hips wide, 

 quarters long and muscular, and the legs flat, clean, 

 and straight. 



His action should be rather more correct than I 

 should demand in the steeplechaser, from the rough- 

 ness of the ground over which he must go at all 

 paces. 



But again must I caution my readers against mis- 

 taking coaching for hunting action. The hunter's 

 action must not be knee but shoulder action, or it never 

 will be safe. Without shoulder action the very best 

 hind leg action will be useless, for this reason, that 

 unless the shoulders are capable of throwing the weight 

 of the forepart of the body back to the hind limbs, that 

 weight can never be thrown back by any other agency. 

 This is what is meant when a horse is said to 6 bend 

 himself,'' which he cannot perform if he has bad shoul- 

 ders without breaking his back into two pieces. 



A hunter with bad shoulders is dangerous in the ex- 

 treme, for he will always lean against instead of rising 

 over his fences, and unless they give way, over he must 

 come ; consequently such horses should never be ridden 

 at timber with impunity. 



The hunter must have good feet. Big platter feet 

 can never be anything but fatal to him, for he must 

 run the risk of bruising his feet some dozen or more 

 times every day he goes out. 



In addition to which he will be more liable to hit 

 his legs and pull off his shoes — two of the worst and 



