FIRST-HAND BITS OF STABLE LORE 



they have galloped most of the trip ; not a few of 

 them are arch scoundrels at " soldiering " their 

 work ; that is, they will not do their share, but 

 shoulder the pole and their luckless mate, or learn 

 the art of just keeping their traces straight and 

 not really working at all. A public coach-horse 

 has been not inaptly described as "an animal 

 which has seen an unusual amount of grief in an 

 uncommonly short while," and most of them fit 

 the description. Therefore, the low cost horse, 

 — not the one which is dear at $ioo, but the beast 

 that is cheap at (or near) that figure — is the one 

 likely to afford most general ultimate satisfaction. 

 In a collection of expensive horses one is sure to 

 acquire several gigantic and costly failures, while 

 from a similar bunch of low priced material it is 

 not unusual to develop a few really high class and 

 valuable animals. In event also of the inevitable 

 accidents, the loss in the first case is very heavy, 

 and must be charged up against the remainder. 



Horses of i6 hands should be the limit, and 

 15.2^ will generally be found more satisfactory. 

 A "thick horse," long and low, good fronted, 

 well-shouldered, deep hearted, long ribbed, closely 

 coupled, deep quartered, short above and long 

 below, standing square on all his legs, and mov- 



238 



