48 UNASKED ADVICE. 



bone below the knee. The feet must not be too small ; 

 at the same time, narrow feet wear far better than flat 

 wide ones. 



They must have plenty of heels too ; feet low and weak 

 at the heels will never stand battering with ordinary 

 shoes. Good temper is a most important requisite. A 

 horse with sixteen stone or more on his back cannot 

 afford to take anything out of himself by quarrelling with 

 his rider. He should be able to gallop, and at a fair 

 pace, but he need not be a racehorse. A clever fencer 

 he is presumed to be. Possessing all these virtues, he is 

 worse than useless, if he have not clear wind, and this is 

 just the very thing which he is most likely to want, as 

 these large and valuable horses seem more liable to go 

 roarers than others. If the pipes are clear, and he can 

 gallop, jump, and go on with a heavy weight on his back ( 

 he may be pardoned many shortcomings. He may be 

 the vilest of hacks on the road, threatening to break his 

 knees at every step, he may be a bad walker, he may 

 brush or cut boots and bandages are not expensive (nor 

 always efficacious ?) he may be a kicker, and, if he is 

 one of a large stud, he may even be an indifferent feeder. 

 As a great deal is required of him in the run, an equal 

 amount may be excused him on the road. 



His education is not quite complete unless he will 

 jump a fence in hand. As I have remarked apropos of 

 the covert hack, this performance is usually considered a 

 dangerous one, and so it is unless horse and man under- 

 stand each other. But it is very easy to teach a horse 

 not to come till he is told, the danger being of his 

 jumping on his master, and the accomplishment is well 

 worth the slight trouble involved in the acquirement of 

 it. When there is time to spare a deep drop into the road 



