CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HUNTER 119 



oughbred stallion, the mare should be, first of all, sound 

 and free from vices. Defects are usually trans- 

 mitted through or inherited from the dam. Mares with 

 full and high sloping withers, which keep the saddle 

 well back where it belongs and free of the shoulder 

 blades, are most essential. Low, full withers permit the 

 saddle to turn. A low or only medium up -carriage of 

 the head is desirable. High -headed horses are very 

 objectionable for hunters. A hunter or saddle-horse 

 should carry the head so the eyes are about at the 

 height of the withers. A "park hack" may carry a 

 higher head. A stout, broad loin, but not too short in 

 the back or coupling, is best. A short back for a sad- 

 dle-horse sounds all right theoretically, but practically 

 it is not altogether desirable. A horse must have 

 length of body, or he cannot stride away. Short mid- 

 dle pieces usually accompany a correspondingly short, 

 choppy gait, which is most uncomfortable for the rider. 

 Hock and knee joints very large, even to coarseness, in 

 the mares is very desirable. The true arm should be 

 rather short and upright the full sloping withers 

 keep the saddle well back on the upper line, but a 

 short, upright true arm is even more essential, as it 

 places the fore legs of the animal well forward of the 

 saddle girths, which enables the rider to sit back over 

 the horse's center of gravity. A long oblique true arm 

 may bring the fore legs so far back as to move the 

 center of gravity of the rider too far forward, which 

 makes the horse labored in his gait, and increases mate- 

 rially the chances of his falling or even turning a somer- 

 sault on the landing side of a fence he is jumping. 



