HUNTERS AND STEEPLECHASERS, 247 



to this rule, I may mention the names of Franciscan (Fig. 

 328) and Stepaside (Fig. 333). Franciscan is a beautifully- 

 shaped 15-stone hunter of very high class. Stepaside, an 

 Irish mare, after having been hunted in Ireland, was taken 

 to India, where she showed herself to be the best chaser and 

 hurdle-racer of her time in that country. On contrasting 

 her conformation with that of Franciscan, we shall see that 

 the '' middle piece " of her body is too light for the require- 

 ments of a fair hunting weight, on a long and fast day. One 

 of the nicest shaped hunters I have ever seen was Captain 

 Williams's Joseph (Fig. 320). As examples of horses with 

 good *' middle pieces," I may cite Ormonde (Frontispiece), 

 Cloister (Frontispiece), Franciscan (Fig. 328), Joseph, and 

 Predominant (Fig. 236). If Gamecock (Fig. 259) lacked 

 somewhat in depth at the middle of the back, he amply made 

 up for the deficiency by being, like St. Simon, remarkably 

 round in the barrel (pp. 163 and 164). 



Cloister (Frontispiece), whom I have lately had an 

 opportunity of carefully examining, thanks to the kindness 

 of Mr, Duff and Sir Charles Nugent, is in two particulars 

 a very deceptive-looking horse. The great height of the 

 inner angle of his pelvis (p. 208) gives him a false appearance 

 of being slack in the loins, which, in fact, are broad and 

 muscular. His neck is so very light that there is a marked 

 depression between it and his shoulders (p. 183). His 

 shoulder-blades are particularly long; although they are 

 not very well sloped. His shoulders, though muscular, 

 have no superfluous weight about them, as I saw by the 

 fact that there was no undue development of the *' saddle 

 muscle'* (p. 183), and that his fore legs were not too far 

 apart (p 171). His withers are high and thin. His fore 

 arms are remarkably powerful. The muscles of his limbs 

 show great development in comparison to the weight of 

 his body, neck and head. His barrel is round (p. 163). 

 He has great power of straightening his hocks, just below 

 which the bone of the leg is singularly broad (p. 211). He 

 shows great bone below the knee, as well as below the hocks. 



