FORM. 117 



carried brilliantly by him for two seasons, when, 

 unfortunately, he was deprived of him, by an acci- 

 dent. 



The height of a road hackney must be regulated 

 by the size of the person to ride him ; but, gene- 

 rally speaking, from fourteen hands to fourteen 

 hands and a half, is the proper height. His strength 

 must also be thus calculated, for a light man does 

 not ride pleasantly on a horse equal to double his 

 weight. But a road hackney should have strength 

 of shoulder, with a round barrel, but not a large 

 carcass, which only wears out his legs. His con- 

 stitution and feeding can only be proved upon trial ; 

 but there are certain indices, such as deep ribs, 

 hardy colour, brown muzzle, &c., which very rarely 

 deceive us. As to the necessity of well-placed 

 hinder-legs, it is most clearly shown by the answer 

 given to the follow^ing question : — If a horse make 

 a serious blunder forward, and the centre of gravity 

 of his body fall beyond the pillars of support, and 

 is for a moment lost, what restores the equilibrium i 

 Is it merely the chuck under the chin to an animal 

 of his bulk and weight, and that " chuck'' given per- 

 haps by the weak, powerless wrist of a feeble old 

 man, or delicate young lady I No : the main effect 

 of the bit, or curb, in this case is, first, warning the 

 horse of his danger ; and, next, by the momentary 

 raising of his head, he is better able to bring a 

 hinder leg instantly to his assistance, by advancing 

 it under his body, and thus restoring the equili- 

 brium. In the walk, in fact, the horse actually 

 begins to move by advancing the hinder-leg under 



