THE CHOICE OF A HORSE 47 



to go in harness ; but before parting with him I 

 asked a friend who had considerable experience 

 to get on his back. That friend gave his opinion 

 before he had been in the saddle five minutes, 

 and it was — '* He is the worst shouldered brute 

 I ever rode, and I would not hunt him for a 

 hundred pounds." This was a horse that men 

 who had not ridden spoke of as having ^'beautiful 

 shoulders." 



The horse with a perfect shoulder and a natural 

 balance is hard to find, but it is what you should 

 always aim at getting in your search for a hunter. 

 When you are fortunate enough to secure this 

 luxury, make the most of him and don't part if 

 you can afford to keep. 



The leg from the knee to the fetlock joint 

 should be short and flat, with big strong joints. 

 Pasterns that are extra long show a weakness, 

 but the other extreme is as bad, because pasterns 

 are the natural springs to lessen the jar of jump- 

 ing, and a horse with very short ones is certain, 

 sooner or later, to become injured in legs or feet. 

 A man who jumps any height will be considerably 

 shaken if he lands on his heels, but he will save 

 nearly all jar by letting his toes first touch the 

 ground. The straight and very short pastern joint 

 of a horse gives the same result as a man landing 

 on his heels. 



Do not buy a horse that is light of bone : I 

 mean by this one that has not bone in propor- 

 tion to the rest of his body. Whether the animal 



