THE SADDLE HORSE OR RIDER 67 



in a saddle horse, but good shoulder action is indispens- 

 able. The ribs must not be too much bent, in fact a 

 shghtly flat side is the best type. It is quite impossible 

 to get to know what sort of a rider any particular horse 

 will make without trying the animal thoroughly. Some 

 very plain horses make superb animals for this purpose, 

 and some showy ones quite the reverse — a plain or even 

 ugly-looking animal. Quite a large proportion of hacks 

 are bought at the horse repositories in various parts of 

 the country, and many of these animals are either 

 warranted sound in a general sense or carry with them a 

 specific warranty, such as sound in wind and eyes. The 

 last named is quite valueless, so far as warranty is con- 

 cerned. Apart from soundness in the regions named a 

 horse may have a hundred and one defects, any of which 

 ma}^ render it " something more than a white elephant '* 

 to the purchaser. Defects of wind — roaring and broken 

 wind— defects of eyesight — opacity of the cornea and 

 catarrh, etc., as well as bone-spavin, ring-bone, splints 

 (badly placed), chronic sprains and bursal swelling along 

 with abnormal or diseased feet and vice should all debar 

 one, if present, from buying a horse for saddle purposes. 

 To be correct, the knees should be broad, the pasterns of 

 moderate slope, the legs clean and well placed in relation- 

 ship to the body, a well-moulded head and a strong back 

 and loins plus nice quarters, with every sign of animation 

 throughout are some of the chief essentials of beauty. 



Prices of hacks vary considerably, but range some- 

 where between 15 guineas (ponies for children) and 

 several hundred guineas. A good all-round hack should be 

 bought for 70 or 80 guineas, and a boy's hack for 35 or 

 40 guineas, and occasionally a trifle less. 



The Hackney or Harness Horse 



The Hackney, or Roadster, is a very useful type of 

 horse, and one that, prior to the advent of the motor-car, 



