2 54 ACTION, HANDINESS AND CLEVERNESS. 



Handiness and Cleverness. — The " handiness " or 

 "cleverness" of a horse depends on his conformation, dis- 

 position, and training, with which we are not at present con- 

 cerned. It goes ahnost without saying, that a placid- 

 tempered animal would be easier to stop or turn, than an 

 excitable one, and would be consequently handier ; but I 

 cannot say that he would be cleverer. I have known several 

 terribly hard-pulling steeple-chasers that were as " clever as 

 cats," and always had a "spare leg" for every difficulty, 

 provided their rider did not interfere with their mouth ; and I 

 have seen other equally stiff-necked, cross-country horses, 

 whose sole delight, no matter how lightly they were handled, 

 seemed to be punching a hole in every fence they met. Some 

 temperate ones are just as "chancy," apparently, from pure 

 laziness ; though many quiet animals are incapable of making 

 a mistake. 



The points of conformation which conduce to handiness 

 and cleverness are : — 



1. Well set on head and neck, so that the horse may be 

 able to bend readily to the rein. 



2. Lio'ht in front (head, neck, and shoulders), and having 

 well-sloped shoulders and front pasterns, in order that he 

 may be able to raise his forehand with ease, and bring his 

 weight back. 



3. Strong loins. We must remember that the upper loin 

 muscles are " rearing muscles " (see page 64), and that the 

 lower ones assist to bring the hind legs under the horse. 



4. Strong hocks and broad gaskins. 



