96 Centaur ; 



A full, firm shoulder is the principal choice in either 

 hackney or hunter ; it means strength and power. 



Great knee action or "high-stepping" jars the rider, and 

 batters the horse's feet. 



''Dais}^ cutting" is very pleasant on turf, but as a rule 

 suggests insuring the neck of the rider. 



Putting the foot down is more important than taking 

 or lifting it up, a big foot put down full being far safer 

 than tripping the toe, as it were, on the *' sliding-scale." 



For pleasant riding the hackney should not carry his legs 

 too high. 



All horses are liable to come down or fall ; therefore the 

 rider should " feel the mouth " lightly, yet firmly as a rule ; 

 but by no means hang on, or pull or saw the mouth. 



Bough usage with the reins spoils the horse's mouth, 

 and produces ill-temper. 



The average speed should be eight or ten miles an hour, 

 or on a long journey six or seven. 



Fast trotters are rarely easy in their paces, and are oft- 

 times disabled and worthless when they should be only in 

 their prime. 



The faithfulness, memory, and sagacity of horses is 

 indeed remarkable, and has commanded the wonder and 

 admiration of all countries and climes, from the earliest ages 

 to the present day. The horse enters into the full spirit of 

 his duties, whether they be pleasure or business, in peace or 

 war, and many are the afiectionate recollections and adven- 

 tures that could be recorded by the writer, and doubtless 

 by the reader. The horse will often show greater or safer 

 judgment at times of doubt or difficulty than the most 

 expert rider. Many is the sportsman who has to thank his 

 horse for landing him safely between the sheets after dining 

 freel}^, or accepting too deeph^ of the parting cup, "just to 

 keep the cold out." A horse has been taken over new 

 ground, and the return journey has been in pitch dark- 

 ness, in a drenching rain and driving wind, and though 

 left to himself, he has brought his driver and party 

 safely home. 



