30 THE HORSE 



many a very good-looking remount joins the colours 

 in the course of each year. 



If a person can get hold of a good-looking and 

 sound harness horse standing 15.3 hands for seventy 

 or eighty pounds, he should consider himself ex- 

 tremely fortunate, but for a first-rate article a much 

 larger sum will have to be paid, whilst match pairs 

 of bigger horses will run into three times the money 

 and then be considered cheap. Horses of about 

 15 hands or a trifle over are as serviceable as many 

 taller animals and command lower prices, not being 

 so taking to the eye, whilst their strength is not so 

 great, but for the one-horse man they come in very 

 handy and often turn out satisfactory for ride and 

 drive purposes. If a big animal is not required and 

 a saddle horse is wanted, the Arab will be found a 

 pleasant mount, but these horses are not generally 

 popular in England and they are difficult to procure, 

 not being plentiful; whilst a good — really good — 

 pony is worth a small fortune to his possessor if he 

 wants to sell him. Hunters, of course, realize fancy 

 prices if they possess good characters, as any students 

 of the prices reported as being realized at Tattersalls' 

 and other horse repositories must perceive ; whilst a 

 hundred guineas for a good-looking, nice-mannered 

 lady's hack is a price that most people would gladly 

 pay j and at this figure a powerful, steady^ elderly 

 gentleman's cob would certainly be considered 

 cheap. Such animals, it must be remembered, if 

 procured at the figures mentioned, would not 

 necessarily be above the serviceable stamp. High 

 class commands high prices, and immediately quality 

 is approached fancy figures become the order of the 

 day. No beginner is, however, acting like a wise 

 man if he invests large sums of money in expensive 

 horses before he understands the animals and their 

 management. If he does so it necessitates his dele- 

 gating the direction of affairs to his servants, and 



