THREE HORSES O WNED BY A UTHOR 35 



and require more time for their hocks to form and 

 develop properly, otherwise they are certain to throw 

 out curbs or spavins, and so a promising young" horse, 

 with perhaps all the makings of a valuable hunter, 

 is prematurely ruined, blemished, and often made 

 permanently unsound, and utterly useless for hunting 

 purposes, through the impatience of his owner. 



I once possessed three such horses, which showed 

 that if put to work too soon they would infallibly 

 develop curb and spavin, and so I did nothing with 

 them, except to have them 'backed' and 'mouthed,' 

 until they were five years old, when, not having any 

 use for such weight-carriers, I sold the three for 

 i,ooo guineas, undertaking to train them myself; 

 and I succeeded in doing so, on the quiet system, 

 and they turned out so well in the shires, whither 

 they went, that I had several applications subse- 

 quently for the same stamp of horse, and I found 

 very great difficulty in matching them. Big horses 

 are much more prone to disease than the smaller, more 

 compact, what are termed ' little-big ' horses ; hence 

 they require longer time to mature. I may mention 

 that one of the three horses which I have referred to 

 was sold for ^750 two years after I parted with him. 

 I am of opinion that when a man can ride under fifteen 

 stone, a compact short-legged hunter is more suitable 

 for him than a big leggy horse, which has quite enough 

 to do to carry himself and his saddle, let alone the 

 extra weight of his rider. There is a vast difference 

 between a ' big ' horse and a ' leggy ' one. The three 

 horses I speak of were big and strong, not showing too 

 much daylight, and when their points and measurement 

 were taken into consideration, I think they were as 



