80 THE ST CD. 



is sometimes the case ; if he has been used by in- 

 ferior persons, it is very often so, the crouching 

 is then accounted for. It is, however, under any 

 circumstances a very disagreeable and, I consider, 

 objectionable habit in any horse; and I cannot 

 persuade myself but that, in the generality of 

 cases, though after a few minutes we may per- 

 ceive no more of it, the crouching is caused by 

 pain for the time being; nor can w^e be certain 

 that all pain ceases when the crouching does so, 

 though it may not be sufficiently acute to induce 

 the animal to give outward demonstrations of it ; 

 in fact, such a horse being able to gallop well, 

 or even jump well, is no proof of either being 

 done without a certain degree of suffering : for 

 this reason I w^ould not (in a general way) buy 

 a horse with such a habit. I will here mention a 

 circumstance that perhaps encreased my habitual 

 prejudice against such horses. 



^Iv father boug-ht a remarkablv fine mare of 

 a relation (who never hunted), intending to make 

 a hunter of her ; this mare crouched on being 

 mounted to a degree that was perfectly ridiculous 

 to look at ; however, in the course of a few hun- 

 dred yards it went off, and there was no other in- 

 dication of any weakness of the back or loins. 

 She was a remarkably pleasant road mare and 

 charger, for both of which purposes she had been 

 used ; but as a hunter she was not worth the 



