USE AND SHOW. 183 



And to a man who wants to be conveyed about quickly 

 and safely, and nothing more, they are as good as the 

 expensive ones ; but they are sure to be wanting in showy 

 qualifications. They are most likely ugly, or not perfectly 

 matched in some respect ; their action is only just good 

 enough to enable them to scratch along at a fairish pace 

 without danger of falling; or there may be fifty other 

 shortcomings which will not prevent them from doing 

 their work, and doing it well, but which would prevent 

 a person who goes in for appearance having anything to 

 say to them ; and the expensive pair might be possessed 

 of elegances that would be thrown away upon, or not 

 appreciated by, the man who merely wants his carriage 

 dragged about. The same remarks apply to hacks. A 

 country gentleman of agricultural tastes requires a sort 

 of beast very different from that which carries a young 

 guardsman up and down Eotten-row. Good temper, 

 good paces, and soundness are the chief requisites of the 

 first; the other need not be a model of soundness to 

 begin with, but he must be especially neat in appearance, 

 and possessed of action, which would be quite thrown 

 away in a ride round the farm or to a magistrates' meet- 

 ing. But though the stepper would be the inferior animal 

 for country work, his action being fatigue to himself and 

 loss of time to his rider, the country gentleman could 

 enjoy a ride in the park on his country hack, show not 

 being an object. 



Buying horses for show is a very different thing from 

 buying for use, and the former requires less judgment. 

 No good judge, if buying for immediate use, appearance 

 not being of much importance, would buy a young horse. 

 A bad judge would ; perhaps on the principle that a full 

 bottle will afford more drink than one out of which a 



