HACK AND HARNESS HORSE 63 



But the hack must carry his head well, his 

 head must be lean and bloodlike and his neck 

 well arched. Then his action must be showy. 

 It is not necessary or even desirable that he 

 should try to hit his curb chain with his knee 

 every time he steps, but he should snap his knee 

 a little, and he should be perfectly balanced. 



Manners it is needless to say are essential. 

 A hack that takes hold of his bit or that bolts or 

 bucks or kicks is an '' impossibility.'* Neither is 

 it permissible for him to shy though there are 

 few horses, however quiet they may be, that will 

 not shy occasionally. 



As for his paces he should go equally well 

 in all, but it is absolutely necessary that he should 

 be a good walker. And he should meet or pass 

 anything which he is likely to come across on the 

 road without taking the least notice of it. The 

 motor car, or motor bus or motor engine of any 

 description should be a matter of complete in- 

 difference to him. He should go past them as if 

 they were not. Then he is a perfect hack. Unless 

 the owner of a hack should take it into his head 

 to take a riding tour through part of the country, 

 than which there is no pleasanter way of spending 

 a few weeks, the hack is not likely to be wanted 

 more than a couple of hours on any day. So it is 

 needless to say that he will not require the same 

 quantity of corn that the hunter does. He should 

 be kept a trifle above himself but not too much 

 so. If he is kept much above himself he will 

 develop a lot of tricks which will take from his 

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