118 THE BREEDS OF LIVE-STOCK 
There is such diversity of opinion, even among authori- 
ties, as to the relative merits of the Thoroughbred and the 
American Saddle horse for saddle work, and the Thorough- 
bred and the part-bred horse as hunters, that the fairest 
way to treat them would be to review the evidence on 
both sides. By his opponents the Thoroughbred is ob- 
jected to as a saddle horse because of his disproportionate 
height at the withers 
and croup, his un- 
symmetrical appear- 
ance from the saddle, 
his low “daisy cut- 
ting”? way of going, 
which they assert is 
conducive to stum- 
bling, and his erratic, 
nervous tempera- 
ment, which renders 
himuntractable under 
restraint. | Opposed 
to these objection- 
able features are the 
spirit, the indomitable courage, speed, stamina and 
natural gallop which are possessed by no other horse 
in the same degree. Level-headed Thoroughbreds that 
fold their knees a little and do not drag their hocks 
are being strongly supported in the saddle division of 
eastern shows. For riding to hounds the Thoroughbred 
is said by some to be ill-adapted because of his temper- 
ament, which makes him fretful at checks and difficult to 
control with the field in full ery. Furthermore, the aver- 
age Thoroughbred is not up to the weight imposed by 
many riders who care to indulge in this sport. On the 
Fic. 18, — Thoroughbred saddle mare. 
