

HORSE. 



14- to 22 miles per day 4 tons of goods. See 

 TKACTIOJT. 



The Hunter. PI. 13, c. It has been said that 

 the hunter should be rarely under 15 or 16 

 hands high ; below this he cannot well stand 

 over his work, and above this he is apt to be 

 long-legged and awkward at his work. With 

 the increased speed of the hounds, and by the 

 enclosures increasing the powers of the coun- 

 try to retain the scent, the speed of the modern 

 hunters is much greater than that of the olden 

 time, when with slow hounds, and strong, ac- 

 tive horses, the country gentlemen had their 

 "meets" at break of day, and continued the 

 chase for hours. Hence it is now pretty gene- 

 rally agreed that the modern hunter should be 

 at least three-quarters bred. Many prefer the 

 thorough-bred horse, especially if he can be 

 procured with sufficient bone. The proper- 

 ties which a good hunter should possess, are 

 thus described in the Library of Useful Know- 

 ledge (The Horse, p. 51): "He should be light 

 in hand; tor this purpose his head must be 

 small, his neck thin, and especially thin be- 

 neath his crest, firm and arched, and his jaws 

 wide. The head will then be well set on ; it 

 will form that angle with the neck which gives 

 a light and pleasant mouth. Somewhat of a 



k, however it may lessen the beauty 

 of the race-horse, does not interfere with his 

 speed, because more weight may be thrown 

 irward, and consequently the whole bulk of 

 animal more easily impelled; at the same 

 ic the head is more readily and perfectly ex- 

 teiule.l, the windpipe is brought almost to a 

 ht Hue from the lungs to the muzzle, and 

 the bivuthing is freer. Should the courser, in 

 consequence of this form of the neck, bear 

 more heavily on the hand the race is soon 

 over, but the hunter may be our companion 

 and our servant through a long day, and it is 



ntial consequence that he shall not too 

 much annoy and tire us by the weight of his 

 head and neck. The forehead should be loftier 

 than that of the racer. A turf horse may be 



u if his hind quarters rise an inch or 

 two above his fore ones. His principal power 

 is wanted tor behind, and the very lowness of 

 the forehead may throw more weight in front, 

 and cause the whole machine to be more 

 easily and speedily moved. A lofty forehead, 

 hnwrver, is indispensable in the hunter, the 

 shoulder as extensive as in the racer, as 

 oblique, and somewhat thicker ; the saddle will 

 then be> in its proper place, and will continue 

 so, however long may be the run. The barrel 

 should be rounder, to give greater room for the 

 heart and lungs to play, and send more and 

 purer blood to the larger frame of this horse; 

 and especially more room to play when the 

 run may continue unchecked for a time that 

 begins to be distressing. A broad chest is an 

 excellence in the hunter. In the violent and 

 long-continued action of the chase, the respira- 

 tion is exceedingly quickened, and abundantly 

 more blood is hurried through the lungs in a 

 given time, than when the animal is at rest. 

 There must be sufficient room for this, or the 

 animal will be blown, and possibly destroyed. 

 The majority of horses that perish in the field 



HORSE. 



are narrow-chested. The arm should be as 

 muscular as that of the courser, or even more 

 so, for both strength and endurance are wanted. 

 The leg should be deeper than that of the race- 

 horse (broader as you stand at the side of the 

 horse), and especially beneath the knee. In 

 proportion to the distance of the tendon from 

 the cannon or shankbone, and more particu- 

 larly just below the knee, is the mechanical 

 advantage with which it acts. A racer may be 

 lied beneath the knee without perfectly de- 

 stroying his power, but a hunter with this 

 defect will rarely have stoutness. The leg 

 should be shorter than that of a race-horse, for 

 higher action is required of him, that the legs 

 may be cleanly and safely lifted over many an 

 obstacle, and particularly that they may be 

 well doubled up in the leap. The pastern 

 should be shorter, and less slanting, yet retain- 

 ing considerable obliquity. The long pastern 

 is useful by the yielding resistance which its 

 obliquity affords to break the concussion with 

 which the race-horse, from his immense stride 

 and speed, must come to the ground ; and the 

 oblique direction of the different bones beauti- 

 fully contributes to effect the same purpose. 

 With this elasticity, however, a considerable 

 degree of weakness is necessarily connected, 

 and the race-horse occasionally breaks down 

 in the middle of his course. The hunter, from 

 his different action, takes not this length of 

 stride, and therefore wants not all this elastic 

 mechanism ; he more needs strength to sup- 

 port his own heavier carcass, the greater 

 weight of his rider, and to endure the fatigue 

 of a long day. Some obliquity, however, he 

 requires, otherwise the concussion even of his 

 shorter gallop, and more particularly of his 

 frequently tremendous leaps, would inevitably 

 lame him. The foot of the hunter is a most 

 material point, for it is battered over many a 

 flinty road and stony field, and if not particu- 

 larly good, will soon be disabled and ruined. 

 The position of the feet requires some atten- 

 tion in the hunter; they should, if possible, 

 stand upright. If they turn a little outward, 

 there is no serious objection, but if they turn 

 inward, his action can hardly be safe, particu- 

 larly when he is fatigued or over-weighted. 

 The body should be short and compact com- 

 pared with that of the race-horse, that he may 

 not, in his gallop, take too extended a stride. 

 This would be a serious disadvantage in a long 

 day, and with a heavy rider, from the stress on 

 the pasterns; and more serious efforts required 

 when going over clayey, poachey ground in the 

 winter months. The compact, short-strided 

 horse will almost skim on the surface, while 

 the feet of the longer-reached animal will sink 

 deep, and he will wear himself out by efforts to 

 disengage himself. The loins should be broad, 

 the quarters long, the thighs muscular, the 

 hocks well bent, and under the horse." (Ibid. 

 p. 53.) 



Galloways. A horse between 13 and 14 

 hands high is called a galloway. The name 

 originated from a beautiful race of little horses 

 once bred in Scotland, on the banks of the Sol- 

 way Frith. The pure galloway was distin- 

 guished for its speed and stoutness, and was 



639 



