CHAPTER III. 25 



As I assume that the horse to be bought is 

 meant for war, trial should be made of all the 

 qualities that war itself puts to the test. These 

 are jumping ditches, going over walls, breast- 

 ing banks, and leaping down from them ; you 

 must try him riding up hill and down dale 

 and along the slope. All these tests prove 

 whether his spirit is strong and his body 

 sound. He should not be rejected, however, 

 if he does not perform them all very finely ; 

 as many animals fail, not from inability but 

 from want of practice in these feats. With 

 instruction, habit, and practice they may do 

 all finely, provided they are sound and not 

 vicious. But you must beware of horses that 

 are naturally shy. The over-timid let no 

 harm come to the enemy from off their backs, 

 and they often throw the rider and bring 

 him into the greatest danger. 



You must learn, too, whether the horse 

 has any particular vice, shown towards other 

 horses or towards men, and whether he is 

 very skittish. These are all troublesome 

 matters for his owner. You could much 

 better discover objections to being bridled 

 and mounted and other vices, by trying to 



