32 HACKS AND HUNTERS 



be comfortable to ride. His back must be straight, 

 and if he is to be used by a woman it should, for com- 

 fort's sake, err on the longish side. 



Although it is not as necessary for a hack to possess 

 the same degree of bone and sinew as a hunter, never- 

 theless, his legs must by all means be able to stand 

 the wear and tear of ordinary riding. Fairly elastic, 

 sloping pasterns and well-shaped feet are of great im- 

 portance, as much of his work has to be done at a 

 '"amnier, 'ammer, 'ammer on the 'ard 'ighroad." 



The hack's crupper line should be straight and 

 smoothly turned, and his hips even and nicely rounded. 

 Goose rumps, roached backs, and ragged hips are allow- 

 able only in a hunter. He should have a straight hind 

 leg* and a well-set-on dock that is carried preferably 

 well away from the body in a graceful arch. This 

 carriage is often artificially produced by cutting some 

 muscles in the dock. If well done by an experienced 

 surgeon it often proves satisfactory, but there is always 

 a certain risk attending it that the horse's appearance 

 will be ruined by a crooked tail carriage. Therefore, 

 unless the horse is very under-bred, or actually hugs 

 his dock to his body, I would not advise tampering 

 with it. 



The proper height for the model hack that is to be 

 ridden by the average man or women is from 15 hands 

 to 15.3. Anything under this size would be consid- 

 ered a pony, but if a horse is light, breedy, and springy 

 in gait, anything up to 16 hands is permissible. Of 

 course the height of the horse must at all times depend 

 largely on the size of the rider. A woman with what 



* It must not be forgotten, however, that an extremely straight hind 

 leg is not very conducive to much hock action, and is, therefore, more 

 to be desired in a hunter than in a hack. 



