200 The Post and the Paddock, 



could never win a race on his private account, though 

 Camel and Priam had left their undeniable traces on 

 his quarters and head. He seemed by no means to 

 feel his position, as, after clearing the Ring, and 

 driving Mr. Tattersall with a Chifney rush from his 

 box, he performed three or four distinct pas-seuls on 

 his hind legs. There he was like a great black 

 fountain of animal spirits towering over everything ; 

 a sight enough to make old Ducrow's dust *' start 

 and tremble under his feet, and blossom in purple 

 and red." 



West Australian was not deficient in quality, though 

 he was not indebted for that to his sire ; and if you go 

 into a paddock, and see a lengthy plain-headed foal 

 with lop ears gazing at you, it may be safely set 

 down as a Melbourne. The Bay Middletons are 

 generally easy to pick out, by the black speckles on 

 one of the front coronets ; the Alarms by their flesh- 

 coloured noses, and peculiarly indented-in-the-middle 

 outline of head ; the Orlandos by their tapering 

 heads, and tendency to white on the legs : the Cowls 

 by their round quarters ; the Birdcatchers by their 

 smart airy look, low-set-on tails, and rich golden 

 chestnut ; the Touchstones by their black-brown skins, 

 intelligent white-reach faces, and peculiarly high-bred 

 nostrils ; and the Sweetmeats by their " clear-cut 

 icily-regular" foreheads, which caused a trainer to 

 exclaim one autumn, as he looked over Mr. Cookson's 

 lot in the Salutation yard, " Dear me ! I wish I 

 showed half as m.uch breeding about the head as 

 you do." 



The pervading fault of modern horses is, that they 

 are as beautiful as a picture before the saddle, and 

 lack substance and coupling behind it ; while the 

 long shoulders, which are so much talked of, may 

 tend to send them down, but do very little towards 

 helping them up a hill. No "jumped-up" horse 

 ever does much ; while a heavy shoulder or quarters, 



