124 THE MERRY GEE-GEE 



galloping quarters is a long horse with 

 a short back. His length wants to be 

 derived from his quarters and the placing 

 of the shoulders. Let a man fancy 

 himself ever so good a judge of shoulders, 

 he cannot quite tell how the machinery 

 will work till he gets up. Then you 

 will soon know, especially if you ride 

 over ridge and furrow or downhill. 



In buying horses off a dealer, a gentle- 

 man has so many more facilities for trial 

 than he has in buying one by auction at 

 the Repository, in which case, unless he 

 happens to know the horse, he is work- 

 ing blindfold as to his manners and 

 capabilities. A dealer, however, who 

 buys at the Repository has many strings 

 to his bow. If he buys a horse to suit 

 a certain customer, and it fails to hit 

 the mark, it will doubtless suit some one 

 else. Moreover, the gentleman who buys 



