THE HUNTErt.] 



THE HOBSE, AND 



[the nUNTEB. 



other animals, is one of our most imperative 

 duties. 



THE HUNTER. 



Before entering on a particular description 

 of the horse, to which this portion of our work 

 is to b» devoted, we shall enumerate the 

 variety of horses which, under their different 

 appellations, are characterised by more or less 

 distinctive features. We have already de- 

 scribed the racer ; but the hunter, the hack, or 

 hackney, the roadster, the lady's horse, or pad ; 

 the coach, cavalry, and dray horse, have yet to 

 follow. In sporting language, the term horse 

 mdicates one uncut, or a stallion. Gelding 

 has always been a common and familiar term. 

 A horse below thirteen hands — four inches to 

 a hand — in height, is styled a Pony; above 

 that height, and below fcjurteen hands, a Gal- 

 loway. The term coh, refers to a truss, short- 

 legged nag, able to carry any weight. The 

 pach-horse has long since disappeared from 

 amoner us. The cock-tail, a new term in the 

 slang of the inferior turi', indicates a racer not 

 thorough -bred. The icelter horse, is a term of 

 lono- standing, but of unknown derivation. It 

 points to either racer or hunter, master of the 

 highest weight. The designation, tliorough- 

 Ired, belongs to the racer of pure Arabian 

 or Barb blood ; and the term is likewise ap- 

 plicable to the horses of other nations of the 

 south-east. A nag, in which the show of blood 

 predominates, is culled blood-like, or a blood- 

 horse. The degrees of blood in an English 

 horse are expressed by the terms, half-hrtd, 

 three-parts, and seven-eighths hred. The first, 

 or half-bred, is the produce of a racer and 

 common mare, or vice versa — the last cross 

 not so frequent, nor deemed so successful ; 

 the second, of the racer and half-bred ; and the 

 third, of the racer, and the three-part bred 

 mare. This last may, and has, sometimes, 

 raced capitally. Several examples of suc- 

 cessful seven-eighths bred racers, have oc- 

 curred at various periods. Perhaps no in- 

 stances have ever occurred, of a three-part 

 bred horse saving his distance in runing two 

 miles with thorough-bred racers. 



Tlie conventional form of the horse, as to 



the great essentials, may be held referable to 



every variety ; for example, the head should 



be lean, argutum caput, neither long nor short, 



86 



and set on with somewhat of a curve ; the 

 thropple loose and open ; the neck not re- 

 versed — cock-throppled — but rather arched; 

 the loins wide and substantial ; this, more 

 especially, if the back is long ; the tail not 

 drooping, but nearly on a level with the spine; 

 the hinder quarters well spread, as a support 

 to the loins, and as a security against the 

 pasterns, in progression, being cut by the 

 hoofs ; the hinder legs should descend straight, 

 laterally from the hocks, as a preventive to the 

 defect styled sicJcle-houghed, or hammed; at 

 the same time, the curve from the hock should 

 be so placed, that the feet may come suffi- 

 ciently forward to prop the loins, and that the 

 horse may not be said to leave his legs behind 

 him ; the muscles of the tliigh and fore-arm 

 should be solid and full, though some horses 

 are heavy and overdone by nature in those 

 parts. The horse, of whatever description 

 should not be leggy; and, of the extremes, 

 short legs are preferable. The canon, or leg- 

 bone, below the knee, should not be long, but 

 of good substance ; and the pasterns and feet, 

 of a size to correspond with the dimensions of 

 the horse ; the hoof should be dark, the feet 

 and frog tough, and the heel wide and open ; 

 the fore-feet should stand perfectly level, the 

 toe pointing forward in a right line, otherwise 

 the horse will knock, or " cut in the speed," 

 however wide his chest ; in plain terms, he will 

 strike and wound either his pasterns, or his 

 legs immediately below the knees, or both ; 

 the feet standing even, the horse being equal 

 to his work, will seldom, perhaps never, knock 

 or cut, however near the hoof may approach. 

 A full, clear, azure eye, he also should have. 



Such are the requisites of form, whether 

 taken in their widest extremes for the racer 

 or the cart-horse. Eor the hack, hunter, or 

 racer, there are certain other requisites of 

 form and quality. The principal of these are 

 the deep, backward-declining, and, as it is 

 called, the counter, or coulter shoulder, well 

 elevated fore-hand, deep girthing-plaee, with 

 sufficient racing blood to give lightness, action 

 of body, and fineness to the hair and skin. 

 This description applies with perfect aptitude 

 to the hunter, which should have, moreover, 

 great strength of loin and fillet, and should 

 not be high upon the leg. Nor is any addition 

 necessary for the running-horse, or racer, but 



