PECULIARITIES OF HORSES. 395 



in the Derby, was a good example of this fact and they 

 do not act well on hard ground. Animals with sloping 

 pasterns generally like to " hear their feet rattle," and seldom 

 get their legs jarred when going down an incline. The 

 fact of a horse having heavy, straight shoulders greatly inter- 

 feres with his ability to gallop with advantage down a hill. 



The best kind of horse for going down a hill, is a light 

 moving, quick striding animal who has flat, oblique shoulders, 

 sloping pasterns and sound legs and feet ; but a long striding 

 horse, especially if he be a bit straight in front, is seldom at 

 home except on the flat. On this subject, the Sporting Times 

 remarks : " We incline to the opinion that on the Derby 

 course Iroquois would always beat Peregrine, just as Bend Or 

 beat Robert the Devil. Very big horses, like very big men, do 

 not climb hills well, and coming down shakes them &11 to 

 pieces. It is the light springy sort who are the best at the 

 game, and of such is Iroquois." 



Horses with rather high action and good hocks are the best 

 to climb a hill. The possession of large broad feet is useful 

 on a heavy course, from the mechanical advantage they have 

 over small hoofs. A compact, quick-striding horse, like what 

 Freeman was, is well adapted for a cramped course, like the 

 Roodee at Chester ; but a big long-striding animal Lord 

 Clifden, for instance requires a straight level course, like that 

 at Doncaster, on which to display his powers. The length 

 and height of a horse does not matter so much, provided he 

 has quick hind action and gets his hocks well under him. 

 Knight of the Garter, who was one of this sort, though 

 a very big horse, squandered his field in the Chester Cup 

 of 1869, with 9 st. i Ib. up. Also Asteroid, who was built on 

 a large scale, won in 1863, carrying 9 st. 4 Ib., beating eleven 

 others. Unsound horses generally act best on a soft course, 

 especially those with any tendency to laminitis or navicular 

 disease. Old horses which are somewhat stiff on their legs, 



