STEADY GOERS. 127 



such a horse ; but I should strongly recommend the 

 rider to take him home, and never get on him again. 

 Such horses make as good harness-horses as any, and 

 are generally strong horses at such work ; for a har- 

 ness-horse should not, like the saddle-horse, be on his 

 haunches : horses that are seldom can get along in 

 harness with heavy weights behind them, particularly 

 up hills. We will suppose we could balance a horse, 

 as we can a stick, on the finger : for a saddle-horse the 

 balance should be such as that the fore-parts have 

 always an inclination to rise : for a harness-horse, it 

 should be the reverse, as a horse may have magnificent 

 action in his trot without being on his haunches. 

 Heavy men should most unquestionably never ride 

 horses with high action ; and yet in a general way 

 they are anxious to get them, from the mistaken idea 

 of their being safer than others, forgetting time is lost 

 by high action, and with 18st. on him a horse wants 

 to bring one leg to the support of the other as quickly 

 as possible. High action tires ; and horses having it 

 are, with such a weight on them, very likely when 

 tired to hit their legs : nothing can be more awful 

 than such a horse with such a weight cutting speedy, 

 or indeed cutting anywhere. 



Sluggishness is another great cause of unsafety, 

 but more particularly in the hack. I hate it in 

 any horse ; I am not fond of your thorough steady 

 goers : I never knew any of them, in horse or man, 

 good for much. Of all horses, a hack or buggy-horse 

 should be at least a merry one. We often use them 

 where there is no excitement for them, nothing to 

 cheer them but their own spirits : these should be at 

 least equal to proof, for they often get a good deal of 

 diluting. Personally I would never wish for a very 



