CONFORMATION AND ACTION 277 



neither long nor short; (12) the hair should be 

 short and fine. 



I might have added another point, making 

 thirteen in all, but for luck I stop at the dozen, 

 feeling sure that if any of my readers gets a horse 

 with the good points noted he will have a treas- 

 ure beyond the lot of most men and maybe far 

 beyond his deserts. 



A well-formed horse ought to have good ac- 

 tion. This does not always follow. But good con- 

 formation without good action is a kind of dis- 

 appointing fraud. The best action is that which is 

 natural to the horse. We expect this in families 

 and in types. But training can modify the action 

 of a horse, indeed, change it entirely as when a 

 pacer is converted into a trotter. With pacers, 

 however, I am not concerned as I presume that 

 this book is written for gentlemen. 



There can be no good action which is not 

 straight. In the walk, the trot and the gallop a 

 horse must move his feet and legs in parallel 

 lines. The horse that does that naturally can be 

 taught the other things that may not come to him 

 by nature — high stepping, for instance. When 



