78 HORSE PORTRAITUE.E. 



driven her she has troubled me by cutting between the 

 hoof and pastern joint. I ascribed it to breaking on a 

 half-mile that had four rather sharp quarter-circles for 

 tuins. When going round these she would sidle against 

 the near shaft, trotting as you frequently see a dog, plac- 

 ing the off hind foot between the fore-legs, being more 

 inclined to do it when not at full speed. I have tried a 

 variety of boots, but none seemed effectual. I am con- 

 vinced the sharp turns were the cause, as I drove her for 

 a time on the road when she never brushed a hair. 



This one next her is also by the Falcon, her dam by a 

 Morgan horse, her grand-dam an Ohio mare with some 

 pretensions to breeding. You will not be able to discern 

 any of the Morgan taint in her appearance, the purer 

 stream having quite obliterated the mongrel. She skims 

 over the ground so easily, and with so little apparent 

 effort that I have named her Hirondelle. Delle is her 

 stable-appellation. She is very highly strung, but docile 

 as a pet dog. 



The only trouble she has occasioned me is her anxiety 

 to overdo herself. When asked to trot fast she will rush at 

 it as if she were emulating Flora Temple in her electric 

 nights of speed ; of course, not having the same conirol 

 of her limbs, the brush is only a short distance, when she 

 goes with the same determination into a 'run, and a 

 person not acquainted with her would be sure she was 

 going to run away. A strong pull will keep her from 

 breaking for a little while, but I was so fearful of getting 

 more of these torments that I never would pull against 

 her, hoping that time would correct the bad habit. 



PRECEPTOR. This little brown is certainly a beauty, and 

 a rare feather in the plume of Falcon. Her form is al- 

 most as faultless as his, although so widely different. The 

 name is very good, though if I had owned her, she should 

 have been called Fenella, after the sprite who was so airy 



