THE CHOICE OF A HORSE 45 



conveys to your mind. A horse's character is 

 plainly written in the expression of his face, and, 

 if you have the perception to read it rightly, you 

 will never go far wrong. 



People may laugh and tell you that it is not 

 customary to ride on a horse's head, and make 

 humorous remarks ; but you can ask them to point 

 out any animal which has borne a great character, 

 either in the hunting field or on the race-course, 

 that has had a bad expression. 



Occasionally a horse of very great courage may 

 have a leavening of obstinacy in his character 

 which may lead him into bad habits if not properly 

 treated. A horse is a servant, and must understand 

 it is his duty to obey ; but no master with any 

 sense would expect to get the best results from a 

 servant by ill-usage. Your object should be not 

 to break the spirit of a horse, but to tame and train 

 it for your own advantage. This is, however, 

 touching on a subject which we will refer to later 

 on, and we will now consider some other points 

 in making a purchase. 



A good shoulder is, I think, the most important 

 feature in a horse's conformation, both for the 

 comfort of the rider and for the saving to the 

 animal's limbs. No one would ever dream of 

 buying a hack with bad shoulders, and the man 

 who knowingly buys a hunter afflicted in that 

 way is not far removed from a suicide. There 

 are, however, many degrees between the perfect 

 shoulder and the very bad, but unfortunately 



