HACKS AND HARNESS HORSES. 33 



looking horses, with the exception of having upright shoulders, 

 may be worth from 40 to 60 for harness purposes, which, if 

 their shoulders had been more oblique, would probably have 

 sold for 40 or 50 more as hunters. 



As regards action, to command a good price horses of both 

 these classes must step ; in the hunter it is not so necessary, he 

 is for galloping. Therefore, when purchasing hacks and 

 harness horses, great attention should be paid to their action. 

 If a horse is a very high stepper, his feet must be carefully 

 examined, as that kind of animal is most liable to laminitis and 

 corns, the result of concussion. 



Broken knees, which are not of such great importance in a 

 hunter, are matters for most serious consideration in hacks and 

 harness horses ; they not only very much depreciate their value, 

 but it is for the purchaser to consider whether, even if their 

 action was good, and there are no evidences of " brushing " or 

 " speedy-cutting," it is worth the risk of buying. A horse with 

 a slightly blemished knee is bought from a farmer who says he 

 slipped down in a cart, when drawing a heavy load up a hill. 

 The horse's action is remarkably good and clean ; he is bought, 

 but he falls twice, and badly, both times in harness, within two 

 years. We have heard of many similar cases to this. On the 

 whole, we should recommend a horse with blemished knees to 

 be left alone. Splints, sprains, thoroughpins, contracted feet, 

 flat feet, and occasionally side bones, are frequent causes of 

 lameness in this class of horse. Cataracts should be carefully 

 looked for, as if they are large they often cause horses to shy. 

 These horses are generally shown in the midst of the crowding 

 and bustling of the fair, so that there is some difficulty in 

 having a good look at them. Under such circumstances, it is 

 well to get a selected horse into some quiet side street, where 

 the purchaser can take his time in looking over him. It is 

 always very necessary to gallop him, in order to ascertain 

 the condition of his breathing ; a large proportion of young 



D 



