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no single cause that so frequently brings horses 

 down, as their being over-weighted. A dull horse 

 with scarcely a stone more than he is accustomed 

 to bear, will turn sulky and careless ; the rider 

 becomes impatient, and urges him to exertion ; 

 the usual pace of the horse is broken, and a fall is 

 the natural result. 



Closely allied to this suggestion is another of 

 equal moment — to consider well the nature of the 

 work you require your horse to perform. I shall 

 reserve what I have to say about the choice of 

 horses for draught, for another chapter ; but it is 

 not out of place to notice here a very common error. 

 There is not one horse in fifty that is adapted both 

 for the saddle and for harness. I once had a gal- 

 loway that rarely stumbled in harness, though he 

 would not have carried the best rider, of feather 

 weight, half a dozen miles without as many falls. 

 Yet he was perfectly sound, and continued sound 

 for five years that he remained in my possession. 



To return from this digression; if the object is 

 only a daily ride of half a dozen miles to and from 

 the counting-house, any horse not over-weighted 

 is, if sound, fully equal to the work ; but if the 

 distance materially exceeds ten or twelve miles 

 a- day, it is by no means every horse that can per- 

 form it : more especially if the rider is averse to 



