Breeding Horses. 
265 
to press the spine upwards, and therefore a downward curvature 
is the most advantageous formation. Horses with high backs 
cannot push heavy weights back, for the same reason ; the back- 
bone, already bent up, is forced upward still more, the arch is 
opened, and power is lost. The horse with low back, if willing, 
can push back almost anv weight, because the weight is pressed 
against the lower side of the arch ; which, being bent downwards, 
is strengthened bv the pressure. Should m}" explanation not appear 
clear to my readers, I advise them to put into the plough, side by 
side, a horse with a high back, and one with a low back, and. 
observe whether the high back does not bend up higher by his 
work, and whether the low back does not remain in its fixed, 
position. That which bends is weak : it cannot bear the pressure 
upwards. The horse would say at the end of his day's work, if 
he could speak, " How my back does ache! " 
The fixed position of the vertebrae indicates the power of the 
brute as well as the power of tlae man ; the loose, wabbling back 
cannot endure in anv animal. 
The carriage-horse is expected to make a handsome appear- 
ance, carry his head high, his knee well up, and to rely entirely 
upon his driver where he is to go to an inch. He is partly 
blinded by the winkers, and very much prevented seeing his way 
by the bearing-rein. Not so the riding-horse ; his eyes are 
unmasked, his head at liberty to pick his way for himself and 
his master too. While the carriage-horse is looking up to the 
drawing-room window to be admired by the ladies, the riding- 
horse should be looking where his next foot is to be placed upon 
the ground to give confidence to the rider. His neck should be 
lighter, and capable of being easily arched. It is very disagree- 
able to me to have a high stand-up harness neck before me. I 
prefer a light neck, not very long, and shoulders so long as that, 
when I am on his back and he in a trot, I can see his knee at 
work before me. This gives the rider a good seat, and places 
the weight w ell back upon the horse where he can carry it. The 
hind legs should be well under him, the fore legs short, feet 
sound, the hips low and flat : wide, high hips are ugly, and 
objectionable in all horses. 
It may be accepted as a rule, " that the horse that walks well, 
can either trot or gallop well ;" not unfrequently both. The best 
hacks I have seen have been bred from good strong ponv mares 
and thorough-bred horses. You cannot have too much blood in 
your riding-horses ; but less can be done with in the hack than in 
the hunter, in whom pace and endurance are wanted, besides par- 
ticularly good wind, and also round action, to accommodate 
himself to ridge and furrow, and carry his master safely home 
