344 
LECTURES ON HORSES. 
have the true hackney action, the sharp or quick lift , the grace- 
ful turn in the stay, and the flat and firm grounding of the foot, 
which we all so much admire, and which by writers in general on 
this subject is described as the proper manner in which a horse 
should walk, as though there were no other ; while the other 
hackney — displaying perhaps more breeding — -will, race-horse 
like, lift more leisurely, and, instead of twirling his foot, will cast it 
pointedly forward in a horizontal line, and place it daintily upon 
the ground, as if he took every pains to do so with precision ; and 
withal will step, perhaps, with perfect safety, and advance as fast 
as the quick-actioned hackney. Supposing, therefore, we assume 
good walking to consist in speed and safety, adding thereto even 
elegance or gracefulness, there are manifestly two, if not more, 
ways of accomplishing it ; and these two, being so different, are 
sufficient to set at defiance any single rule we may lay down for 
its performance, or any single definition we may give of it. So 
that a horse’s walk be neither slow nor unsafe, nor (to the rider) 
uneasy, we shall not widely err in regarding it as good, let it be 
performed in whatsoever manner it may. However fast it may be, 
if insecure, it is seriously faulty ; and though fast and safe, still, 
if rough or unpleasant to the rider, it is objectionable. In fine, the 
walk of a horse should be estimated rather by its effects and pro- 
ducts than by the manner or method in which the animal per- 
forms it. 
Faulty or defective walking may proceed from various 
causes. It may be natural or acquired. A horse may be so 
formed that all the pains in the world cannot make him walk pro- 
perly or well ; and the best walker may be rendered otherwise by 
mismanagement, or from unsoundness, or age. That man will act 
wisely who refuses to purchase or to have any thing to do with 
the natural bad walker : if he cannot walk well, he cannot trot 
well, and will most likely prove insecure in one or both paces ; and 
though by a judicious system of manege he may and will probably 
turn out susceptible of improvement, still he will, as I said before, 
by no pains be convertible into a good or safe walker and trotter ; 
and, therefore, the best counsel I can give a man who wants a 
horse for riding purposes is, I repeat, to refuse the purchase of the 
natural bad walker. But good walking may be destroyed or con- 
verted into bad walking by injudicious training or riding. It is 
surprising what a difference — -a difference known only to horse- 
men — proper and improper riding makes, even in horses that are 
by nature excellent walkers. I have often heard my father — who 
was a good horseman — say, he could tell when another man had 
been riding his horse from the difference he felt (the next time he 
rode, himself) in his horse’s walking : the hand and the leg have 
