82 BAD HABITS CONTRACTED. 



to the left, and allows him to run into the fence just as 

 he pleases ; and thus refusing, swerving, not rising, and 

 rushing, are all engendered by the most ungainly 

 practice that any horseman can be guilty of. 



Until men learn that horses, having two sides to 

 their mouths, require an equal pressure on each side to 

 keep them straight, and an unequal pressure to make 

 them turn, there will be no fewer refusers, rushers, 

 swervers, &c., than there, are at the present time. 



THE CHARACTER OF THE STEEPLECHASE HORSE OF THE 

 PRESENT DAY AS COMPARED WITH THE PAST. 



In choosing a steeplechase horse, it is often a matter 

 of extreme difficulty what class of animal to select 

 from among the ranks of flat racers ; and indeed, the 

 running of certain horses on the flat and across country 

 seems so utterly opposed, that no just conclusion ap- 

 pears attainable. 



Some horses which cannot get a mile on the flat, 

 often prove invincible over thrice this distance across 

 country, and defeat their former victors with such ease, 

 that it would seem well-nigh absurd to suppose that 

 they could be brought on a par at any kind of racing, 



If, however, these facts are looked into more closely, 

 they will not appear so startling as they seem at first 

 sight. In the first place, on the flat a horse must 

 be able to go at his best pace throughout, without a 

 moment's pause for gathering his wind, collecting or 

 altering his stride, or any other action for easing the 

 tension of his whole frame. Every nerve, muscle, and 



