4 THE CREAM OF LEICESTERSHIRE. [Season 



qualified for a carrier's cart at the end of one season, for either 

 feet or legs are certain to give way. His legs, of course, cannot 

 be too flat and clean ; and if that flatness is not carried right 

 down into the fetlock joint, they will become every da}'' more 

 liable to gi'ow, " woolly," or fly altogether. Depth of girth he 

 must have, or his pipes and heart have no room]to play ; and 

 if his back ribs are short, or he is what is termed " cut in 

 two," he cannot stay. There must be strength ui his loins, or 

 he cannot jump, and power in his quarters, or he cannot go 

 through dirt. Comfort demands that his head and neck should 

 be properly put on, though there are bits made which will 

 improve any horse with proper handling, and a little care in 

 selection will soon determine the one to use. There are many 

 other i:)articulars on which the hypercritical might insist ; but 

 if a horse is not found wanting in these leading points, there 

 is not much serious fault in his shape. 



The third essential, courcuic, is perhaps the most important 

 of all, and it is one that is right fully apj)reciated in the 

 country from which we write by men who have learnt by ex- 

 perience its true value. B}' a courageous horse, we mean one 

 that has heart, pluck, and determination — that gives the whole 

 strength of his will to enforce that of his rider, and that is not 

 put out or cowed by the shortcomings of others ; a horse that 

 throws his noble heart into the effort, knows a big fence for 

 himself, glories in it, and savages at it if necessar}' ; one that 

 will fling himself like a lion, whisking through the air like a rocket 

 and jumping high and wide enough to clear the hidden danger, 

 however far set the rail or wide the ditch ; one that cares not 

 if the oxer faces him, or the bullfinch looks black and impene- 

 trable ; that is heedless of craning horsemen or galloping 

 steeds ; that will pop out of a crowded road, or turn sharp 

 romid and fly over a brook ; one that will come again and 

 again in a severe run, and, though tired and reeling, will 

 pull all his energies together and make every fence certain. 

 Such is the temperament that one seeks after and seldom finds ; 

 and a man who has had one or two in his lifetime, possessing 



