6 HACKS AND HUNTERS 



needs a knowledge and experience possessed by very 

 few even of the so-called horsemen of the day. 



Therefore, don't attempt to do your own choosing, 

 either at a private sale or auction, unless you are a 

 sufficiently good horseman or horsewoman to pick a 

 horse in the rough, when he looks like a woolly bear; 

 to detect unsoundness almost as quickly as a veter- 

 inary; or to tell if a horse will give you a comfort- 

 able ride by merely watching him move. 



But enough of how not to buy a horse. Let us see 

 rather what is the besl way for a beginner to obtain 

 a really good animal, irrespective of whether he is 

 destined for the show ring or merely for hacking and 

 hunting. 



On the whole, my advice is to let the choice of a 

 horse be made by some friend who is a "dyed in the 

 wool" horseman, and a man in whom you can put 

 absolute trust and reliance. Tell him just what type 

 of horse you want, what purpose you want to use him 

 for, and how much you are willing to pay; but don't 

 add a thousand and one details as to exact height, 

 sex, color, markings, etc. Leave that to him, for it 

 is hard enough to find a good horse anyway, without 

 being hampered by all sorts of foolish and unneces- 

 sary restrictions. After he has picked an animal for 

 you, even though he may have ridden the horse him- 

 self, be sure to ride him also before you close the deal. 

 This precaution is particularly necessary if you are a 

 woman and your adviser is a man, because many a 

 horse that is suited in his gaits to the latter might have 

 too little hock action to be comfortable for the former, 

 or a horse that from a man's point of view merely 

 went "well up into his bridle," to a woman would seem 

 to take too much of a hold to make a desirable hack. 



