VARIETIES OF THE HORSE. 51 



wliat he often is^ is quite another. People who are 

 particular about appearances like something of the follow- 

 ing description : Height from 14 to 15 hands ; a horse 

 much taller than this has seldom the activity and handmess 

 required in town, where wildly charging vehicles are to 

 be avoided often only by a sharp turn on a slippery 

 crossing. His temper must be perfect, or he may resent 

 being pulled on to his haunches to accommodate a per- 

 ambulator; or, his normal condition being one of greater 

 freshness than most horses, he may play tricks which 

 will be more appreciated by the spectators, especially 

 those sitting on chairs, and therefore themselves out of 

 the way of danger or responsibility, than by the rider 

 of the playful animal. He must be a good walker — 

 nothing is more detestable than to be on a brute who 

 breaks into a jog-trot every minute because his com- 

 panions are walking away from him. His head must be 

 in the right place, or there is no comfort to be had on 

 his back ; shoulders, if he has free use of them, need 

 not be so good to look at as those of a hunter ; many 

 good hacks have only moderate shoulders; but, what- 

 ever the action may be, it is uncomfortable to ride on 

 straight shoulders, let alone that the saddle cannot then 

 be in its proper place ; and, after all, good action is not to 

 be looked for in an animal whose shoulders are really bad. 

 Very straight shoulders are, therefore, out of the question, 

 but they may be a little thicker than a hunter^s. Action 

 is the sine qua non in a park hack. The knee should be 

 visible to the rider beyond the point of the shoulder; 

 the height to which the knee is to be lifted is a matter 

 of taste. Young gentlemen must have it up to the curb 

 chain, but such an excess makes the animal, as often as 

 not, rough and unpleasant. A medium which combines 



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