88 THE HORSE. 



the turf, the field, or the road, were forward on the 

 knees ; but I never knew of a right good one whose 

 knees observed a decidedly backward position. 



I think any person who takes the trouble of opening 

 his eyes may see that the safety of the horse's knees 

 depends chiefly on the slant of the shoulder and pastern, 

 together with the method in which the foot is brought into 

 contact with the ground. On this last point I am at 

 variance with popular opinion, which says, that a horse, 

 in order to be safe, requires to be a high lifter. I look 

 upon high lifting as a very gTeat fault. Just imagine 

 a man walking down one of the thoroughfares of Lon- 

 don or Dublin, and lifting his feet at every step half 

 way to his knee ! He would certainly gain a great 

 deal of admiration, at the expense of his corns, and, 

 perhaps, the point of his nose. Now, where is the 

 difference between a man and a horse, which should 

 make such a difference in the mode of their progi'es- 

 sion ? It is the laying down of the foot which renders 

 the animal safe. Of course, the foot should be raised 

 sufiiciently high to prevent the toe from coming into 

 contact with the gi'ound; but this is very different 

 from what is called high action. My objections are 

 intended to apply entirely to those which are denomi- 

 nated high-steppers. I would avoid all such as much 

 as the daisy-cutter. The medium course is the only 

 safe one. If the horse lifts his foot clear of the road, 

 and lays his heel first to the ground, he cannot fall, as 



