THE ACTION OF HORSES. 43 



High Action. 



Pedigree horses of the Shire, Clydesdale, and 

 Hackney class are usually possessed with high 

 action. It is generally supposed that a horse which 

 lifts its feet well from the ground is much less likely 

 to stumble than one going close to the ground. To 

 a certain extent, this remark is true ; but it does 

 not matter whether the action be high or low with 

 some horses, because they will in any case come to 

 the ground owing to the slovenly manner in which 

 these movements are executed. When speaking of a 

 hack, that celebrated sportsman, " Nimrod " (the late 

 C. J. Apperley), says : " There is one essential quality 

 sine qua non, which is that he should go near the 

 ground and yet go safe. Perhaps it may not be 

 generally known that a horse may go very near 

 the ground and never make a trip ; and that another 

 may lift his knee up almost to his nose, and yet 

 be an arrant tumble-down. Were I to say which 

 were the safest animal in all its paces that ever came 

 under my observation, I should have no hesi- 

 tation in saying that it was a mare, and that was 

 in my family upwards of fifteen years, that touched 

 every stone that she passed her foot over, but never 

 made a mistake in all that time. Lifting up the 



