157 



and yet there are not many that absolutely inca- 

 pacitate him for work. A horse may refuse to 

 canter, and yet be pleasant and speedy in his 

 trot ; he may even blunder with a new and inex- 

 perienced rider, and ultimately prove sure-footed 

 when better accustomed to the hand. Many will 

 swerve and shy when they find themselves un- 

 ! steadily mounted, and afterwards prove perfectly 

 docile. Some animals of dehcate stomachs, or 

 .moody tempers, will refuse their corn when they 

 !come into a strange stable ; others will be sullen 

 iwhen introduced to a new face, or unmanageable 

 ^vhen groomed by an unwonted hand : all these 

 ,ire temporary inconveniences, and far from conclu- 

 sive against the value or usefulness of the horse. 



Many timid riders take alarm at the frohcs of 

 jtheir horse when first mounted ; forgetting that in 

 ill probability he has been fed up into high con- 

 dition for sale, and had no work for a month past, 

 beyond his daily exercise. It is not a fortnight 

 since I mounted a mare that almost kicked down 

 :he stable door as soon as I crossed her. She 

 carried me very quietly for an hour afterwards, and 

 [ was more disposed to complain of a want of 

 ;?pirit, than an excess of it. 



j Should it, however, be too apparent that the 

 burchase is substantially vicious or unsound, it 



