FORM AND ACTION OF GOOD SADDLE HOIiSKS. 165 



in his mind's eye of such a horse as he would like to 

 possess, how far, and which way would he steer, or how 

 much would it cost him to obtain such an animal ? 



It is no uncommon thing for dealers in horses to ask 

 from ICO to 300 guineas for a weight-carrying cob, 

 with a combination of breeding, substance, and beauty 

 of form ; and when we take into consideration the diffi- 

 culties they experience in procuring such, and the com- 

 petition they encounter from agents of foreigners whose 

 chief instructions are to purchase the best horses at 

 unlimited prices, they will cease to wonder why the 

 scanty supply fetch such enormous prices. I could 

 write much more on the scarcity of saddle horses and 

 its causes, but I shall confine my remarks to a defini- 

 tion of the class of animal which I should select as a 

 good form for a saddle horse or hunter ; but these un- 

 fortunately are, like good pictures, few and far between. 

 Fine forms are best understood where they most abound, 

 it being folly to reason with people upon forms of either 

 art or nature, which they have never seen ; therefore, 

 to understand properly the best form for a saddle-horse, 

 we must not only often see it, but become practically 

 acquainted with the result, by frequently riding or 

 driving well-formed horses. 



There are few people who know what constitutes 

 good shoulders in a horse, a good many asserting that 

 they should be jffn*, meaning by this lean at the withers. 

 It is, however, certain that the shoulders of a young 

 horse intended to carry weight can hardly be too thick 



