10 HORSE TRAINING MADE EASY. 



Generally speaking, the injury is one to the 

 sheath, or else some of the fibers attaching" to it 

 are broken. 



One word as to windgalls. These pujffy en- 

 largements, which are more often found on the 

 hind than the fore legs, are not of serious im- 

 port unless they become of great size, which is 

 extremely rare; and a horse should not be re- 

 jected on this ground alone. They usually arise 

 from the horse being rattled about, and grad- 

 ually disappear with steady work. 



Always remember that it would be quite im- 

 possible to indicate any golden rule by which 

 to avoid disappointment in the choice of a horse. 

 One may say, roughly, that your intended pur- 

 chase should stand true on his feet, the pasterns 

 should be sloping; the bone from the knee down- 

 wards not too light, nor the leg too long; the 

 thighs should be muscular, the hocks big and 

 clean, and the body well ribbed up. Especially 

 in a saddle horse the oblique pastern should be 

 sought. If this joint is upright or stilted, dis- 

 comfort will be experienced by the rider, and 

 the horse himself will always be more or less 

 liable to diseases of the feet and legs; the jar of 

 the hard road is much more felt by the upright 

 or short joint than by one that slopes naturally. 



The shoulder should slant more with the 

 driver or hunter than the harness horse; the 

 latter, having to oppose his weight to that of 

 the vehicle he draws, is rather better for a shoul- 

 der which, although it should be by no means 

 upright, is yet considerably straighter than that 

 of the animal destined for saddle work. 



Few men selling hunters will consent to giv- 

 ing you a trial with hounds, and so the next best 

 thing to do is to see them over fences, and, if 



