Good and Bad A ctioit. 299 



The legs should be thrown straight out, bearing 

 neither to the right nor left, nor should the sole 

 be seen by a person standing on either side. 

 In the larger-sized horses the step should be 

 lengthy and regular, in the smaller-sized smart and 

 springy, and in either case the horse should tread 

 with its hind-feet upon the footprints of the fore- 

 feet. If the horse steps short with his hind-feet, 

 look for bone spavin in the hocks. Wide-hipped 

 horses, which sometimes tread on the outside of 

 the footprint of the fore-feet, have generally a 

 shaky action, and are unpleasant to ride. Wide- 

 hipped horses are almost always heavy in the 

 shoulder, and are therefore more adapted for 

 harness than for saddle. Thoroughbred horses 

 generally have low trotting action, and there- 

 fore are not good hacks upon the road, but 

 having a more springy action, are much more 

 pleasant to ride. * Blind horses always lift their 

 feet high, and have a high uncertain action ; there- 

 fore when trying a horse which has high action, 

 examine its eyes carefully, for perchance it is 

 owing to defective sight that it lifts its feet so 

 high. 



When speaking of horse coping, I used the 

 term advertising gentry. No doubt most of my 

 readers have had their attention drawn to adver- 

 tisements in the papers of the following style: — 

 ^'Tobe disposed of immediately, a pair of hand- 

 some bay geldings, 16 hands high, six years old, 

 quiet in double and single harness, constantly 

 driven together, the property of a gentleman who 



