EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. 



Having, in several instances, recommended those intending 

 to purchase horses to reject such as are not of a good sort^ 

 the idea suggested itself, that, although the Plates introduced 

 into this work would of course be perfectly useless to those 

 who are good judges, they might be serviceable to those 

 who are not, as a mode of illustrating what I mean by a 

 good sort, and the reverse ; a distinction that very probably 

 may not be quite understood by those to whom I venture 

 to oifer advice. 



To this end I painted two sketches of a good sort and the 

 reverse : in the latter, I meant to show an animal as bad in 

 every point incidental to the horse as he well could be with- 

 out entire deformity. The other I must beg the reader to 

 bear in mind I did not mean as exhibiting perfection, but 

 as precisely what it is called " a pretty good sort for most 

 purposes;" that is, a horse with such points as indicate a 

 capability for most purposes to which gentlemen put horses. 

 I have not made him beautiful, but simply a good-looking 

 horse, with no point about him that a judge would condemn. 



I will now as briefly as possible point out the particular 

 diflferences between the two animals, which, in book phrase, 

 I will call " lessons for young beginners." 



We will begin with the head, or rather ears: those of 

 No. 11. have a pricked cur-like look, rarely if ever seen 

 in well-bred horses ; the brow and forehead is narrow and 

 contracted ; the eyes devoid of all animation, and, if they 

 could exhibit any propensity, it would be a swinish obsti- 

 nacy. The jaw-bones appear close together, affording no 

 freedom to the windpipe; the nasal bone is formed as 

 we only see that of the cart-horse ; the head is put on to 



