THE PARK HACK. 113 



horse in the stable, although in justice it should 

 be stated, that the same care in the stable is now 

 taken of him as of the best hunter in it. 



Unless to carry a great weight, the cover hack 

 should be all but thorough-bred, if he cannot be 

 procured of quite full blood ; with excellent legs 

 and feet, lengthy and elevated shoulders, and with 

 a susceptibility of mouth that will not only enable 

 his rider to keep him well on his haunches, to 

 guard against danger when going fast on all sorts 

 of roads, but as tending to lessen the fatigue of 

 ridino^ him ; and the streno^th of his rider should 

 be reserved for his day'^s diversion after hounds. 

 The chief pace of a cover hack should be the can- 

 ter ; and his temper should not be overlooked, for 

 if fractious, and a puller, he will add much to the 

 fatigue of a severe day's sport. A horse of this 

 description, nearly fifteen hands high, young and 

 sound, will command from sixty to a hundred 

 pounds. The other points essential to a good 

 road hackney, which will be noticed hereafter, 

 apply equally to the cover hack. 



The Park Hack of the present day is the race- 

 horse in miniature. To be quite a la mode, he 

 should be thorough-bred, with a very neat head, 

 beautifully set on, and a switch or " bang'" tail ; 

 and so well bitted as to be ridden with a slack rein. 

 He should have much liberty in his walk, which, 

 and the canter, should be his chief paces. He 

 must have great obliquity of shoulder, with a cor- 

 responding true formation of hinder quarters, and. 



