THE MODEL SADDLE HORSE 31 



ers, hundreds of polo ponies, or in fact any fairly decent- 

 looking horse that allowed itself to be quietly ridden 

 along the road and had nice gaits might be termed 

 the perfect hack. The model hack is a creation, per se, 

 and he must possess at least in some small degree all 

 those qualifications which, raised to the "nth" degree 

 of perfection proclaim the show hack. If this self- 

 same horse can hunt, can race, or do light harness 

 work, so much the better, but above all and beyond 

 all else his saddle qualities must be the first to be con- 

 sidered, and everything else be subservient to them. 



We will in this ensuing chapter endeavor to por- 

 tray a horse representing the highest standard of per- 

 fection for a hack. In general outline the " beau ideal " 

 of a hack should be smoothly rounded with a fine top 

 line. Angularities of any kind, while permissible in 

 the hunter, are undesirable in the hack. 



He must be more or less "showy" in his carriage, 

 and although he must, under no circumstances, carry 

 a high "harnessy" head, his neck, which must be long 

 enough to allow of "plenty of rein," should be slightly 

 and gracefully arched. Above all, it must come out 

 of his body properly and with the upper outline nicely 

 convexed. A ewe neck on a hack is an abomination. 

 The head itself should be small and well-shaped, and 

 the ears small and alert. Lop or mule ears may pass 

 in a first-class hunter, but they are not permissible in 

 a hack. The withers should be fairly high and sloping, 

 and above all, as already stated, the shoulders must be 

 oblique if the animal is to possess low, even, and 

 smooth gaits. Straight shoulders produce a harnessy 

 trot and stilty canter. The body should be well 

 ribbed up, with the ribs nicely arched, but the hack 

 should not be too closely "coupled" or he will not 



