40 RIDING FOR LADIES, 



So much for appearance. Now a brief word about other 

 matters. 



Do not buy a horse that is not a g"ood walker, however 

 perfect he may seem to be in other respects. I have 

 ahvays attached great importance to an animal's walking 

 powers. It is a pace more generally adopted than any 

 other when out for a pleasure ride, and if you really want 

 to enjoy this last-named recreation, have nothing to do with 

 an indifferent walker, though he be offered you for a song. 



About four and a half miles an hour is a good walking 

 pace — excellent, indeed, when leaving stable. The horse 

 that accomplishes it will generally walk at the rate of 

 five miles an hour when coming home. A good walker 

 will neither stumble, drop, shuffle, nor break. Everybody 

 knows what the first and third mentioned of these defects 

 signify. " Dropping " is a most uncomfortable fault : a 

 sort of inclination to d^ick do%v?iwards in front, or indeed 

 more generally with the hinder part of the body. Few 

 young horses that are not overweighted are apt to do it, 

 and when they do, it is a sign of weakness of the muscles ; 

 they are unsafe to ride. " Breaking " is an inclination to 

 get into a canter, or trot, and is one of the symptoms of 

 defective training. I like to see a horse walk steadily 

 down hill, with head well up, and feet firmly planted. It 

 is an excellent test. 



" Brushing " is a dangerous drawback, and so is " cutting.'* 

 The first means striking one ankle against the other : the 

 second is hitting the shoe against the other leg — a practice 

 which involves considerable wounding and bleeding. Fast 

 trotters frequently do it — therefore, if selecting one, look 



