RIDING OR HUNTING HORSE. 13 



shake you about so much as to be unpleasant, and 

 you would find no pleasure in riding him. 



A riding horse ought to be a good walker, a 

 fast trotter, an easy canterer, and a fairly fast 

 galloper. 



The Carriage Horse. 



The carriage or coach horse should be a strong, 

 well-bred animal. The horse that is used entirely 

 for carriage- work is required mostly for walking 

 and trotting, and is seldom called upon to canter 

 or gallop. So the carriage horse must walk at a 

 good pace and be a fast trotter. To be a fast 

 trotter, he must lift his front legs well off the 

 ground and throw them well forward, while the 

 hind legs must come well under the body, with 

 good and free hock action, in order to give the 

 pace and strength to draw along with ease the 

 vehicle that is behind. Sometimes you may 

 have seen a carriage horse with what is termed 

 high-knee action. This means that the front 

 legs come up and down almost straight, which 

 action of course does not carry the horse quickly 

 over the ground, and moreover the constant high 

 up and down action, hammer hammer on the 

 hard high road, creates great concussion to the 

 front legs, causing them soon to wear out. Be- 

 sides, this high up and down action is not natural 

 to the horse, it has been artificially taught, and 



