THE SHOW HORSE 85 



bilities. In the ordinary routine of riding or 

 driving on the road a shght Idche is soon remedied, 

 and the same if the rider makes a httle mistake 

 in the hunting field. It is a thousand to one that 

 anyone sees it. But in the show ring the verdict 

 of the judges very frequently depends upon the 

 niceties of handling. This can be seen at every 

 show, both in the hunter and harness classes ; 

 and it would be easy to name instances of horses 

 that only give their best form in certain men's 

 hands as there are some horses that always give 

 their best running when ridden by certain jockeys. 



A man who has made up his mind to buy a 

 show horse or two will have to set about making 

 his purchases in a different manner to the one 

 he adopts when buying horses for ordinary work 

 in the saddle or harness. He will find that the 

 market is generally very restricted and that 

 prices rule very high. I think that the best plan 

 he can adopt is to place himself unreservedly in 

 the hands of a dealer who shows largely, unless he 

 is a good judge himself, and by a good judge here 

 I mean a very good judge indeed. For there are 

 a great number of little points which are com- 

 paratively insignificant in the ordinary horse of 

 the work-a-day world, and which count up con- 

 siderably against a horse in the show ring. Trivial 

 faults of outline, of action, or of manners which 

 are scarcely noticed elsewhere are apt to come out 

 very strongly '' in the limelight." 



The man who is constantly buying and show- 

 ing and who is intimate with every detail con- 



