Riding and Driving

leasure and satisfaction. Nor is such an animal so rare as the late Edmund Tattersall suggested, when he gave it as his opinion that a man might have on

of the first edition of "Modern Horsemanship." I bought him as a three-year-old, as an experiment; and when he was four the breeder came to see him and gave m

parts of Europe, and I have found them desirous of pleasing and as honest as their neighbors. I once bought a little horse from a trader in Frankfort-on-the-Main, who told me that I was getting a good bargain, and that in case I ever wished to dispose of it he would like to have a refusal. When

r, to be offered one-half of the price he has set on his property, and then perhaps to have a sound horse returned because the buyer did not know what he wanted. I do not wish to be understood as saying that all dealer

lieve him in a great measure of responsibility. If the friend is really a good judge, it is far better to let him act alone, when he

ometimes the seller requires that the trial shall take place from his yards, to avoid the risk of injury to valuable animals and that blackmail so commonly levied by head grooms and stablemen. In cases where the dealer objected to sendi

, recognizing his deficiencies, wishes to assure himself of the wisdom of the step he is taking, let

stall courage, will go quietly if the saddle be warmed by half an hour's contact with their backs, but will plunge or buck if the rider m

es into his possession, and if the new purchase does not come up to his ex

m a knowledge of the pedigrees and an examination of the progenitors he will be able to form some idea of what may be expected in the way of temperament and development; and it will be a satisfaction to have a fixed price, although it may not be a low one. Some of the breeders in Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri, and perhaps in other parts of the countr

ood horse which he is willing to dispose of, and "the stable of the gent

n its condition, it is not advisable for a man to purchase such a horse except for exhibition purposes. In the hands of a poor or even of a moderately good horseman, the animal will rapidly deteriorate, for it will be trained beyond his skill; and no rider who wishes to have a comfortable mount should acquire a horse that has had an education beyond the stage of being really "quiet

ivacious animal. The legs, well muscled above, clean and hard below the knees, are truly placed under the mass, the drivers capable of propelling the weight of horse and man with vigor,-the fore legs giving no suggestion that the body is leaning forward, the hind legs having no appearance of buttressing up the body. The crest is marked, but not too strongly, and the muscles below it play like shadows as the animal proudly arches its tapering neck, which buries itself in broadly divergent jaws. The shoulder slopes rearward in such a manner as to make the back seem shorter than it really is, while the gentle dip of the saddle-place invites one to mount. Its ability to speed under weight is evidenced by a deep, broad chest, its muscular thighs, its well covered limbs, and

20.-S

-MONTGOM

ction in the exercise. The author has a friend who, late in life, and when his figure had developed beyond the stage where a secure seat might be practicable, was accustomed to place himself on the back of a quiet pacing-mare, in one of those saddles with a towering horn on the pommel and a fair

made by care and training of great intrinsic value; while other animals, whose beauty and striking action have sold them for thousands of dollars, may be dear at any price. A good horse should bring a fair price, but the purchaser should be certain that he is paying for the horse, and not for the privilege of seeing it well ridden by an expert. Except where

even on some of the race-courses, it is a matter of wonder that health and condition of the stock can be maintained under such circumstances.

indow on a level with its head. A gangway should be in the front of the stalls as well as in the rear, and the horse should be fed through an opening about sixteen inches wide in the front of the stall. This narrow opening will be beneficial to the sigh

able discipline is better kept up. In a loose box an idle horse is apt to become too playf

which agility and sufficient strength are usually found, ten to twelve pounds of oats and the same quantity of hay should be given daily in three portions, when in hard work. When the horse is merely exercised, four or five pounds of oats and six pounds of hay will be sufficient. When it is found that a horse does not clean out its manger, the feed should be reduced. In addition to the oats and hay, the horse should have a few carrots two or three times a week, occasionally an apple, and a steamed mash of bran and crushed oats about once a week, as an aperient, given preferably on the eve of some day of rest. During

east two hours every day; eight hours of slow work, with a halt for rest and refr

on after twenty-one days of hard marching, in which a distance of about seven hundred and fifty miles was covered. On a previous occasion General Morgan marched his cavalry ninety miles in about twenty-five hours. Under somewhat similar circumstances the "exigencies of the service" have on occasion required the author to remain in the saddle, with but momentary dismounting, if any, for from sixteen to eighteen hours, sometimes riding at th

the stable, and the first exhibition of cruelty on the

tion to use it on a mud-covered animal that it is better to abolish the instrument. A whalebone mud brush, a strong straw brush, a smoothi

ut upon the legs of the horse. Tight bandages are permissible only when applied by a skilled groom, or under the orders of a veterinary surgeon. Massage, rubbing the le

cleaned out and washed, and the horse be placed in its stall knee-deep in straw. Should a horse be brought in late and really "done up" by its work, it will be better to give it a pail of warm gruel, rub dry the saddle-place, and turn it into a warm box-stall at once, without annoying it with the brushing and handling that would be necessary to clean it thoroughly. No weary horse, no matter how di

the horse shows a disposition to rub its tail against the side of the stall The horse should be dressed in some covered place that is shut off from the stalls; and the owner should, occasionally

e horses, and the many turns and bends required by the limited space will improve the horses therein exercised in every particular. Then the otherwise weary days of winter may be made enjoyable to the horseman by musical rides, for many pretty and intricate figures may be formed by ten or twelve riders. My riding-house is 28 feet by 60, and it is quite large enough for

DING-HOUSE

e holes for the nails are punched. The hind shoes should have very small calks, the toes being correspondingly thickened to give a level bearing. Only so much of the crust or wall of the hoof should be removed as will give the foot a level bearing, keeping the toe straight and the face of the hoof with the slope which conforms to that of the pastern. The bars at the heels should not be cut away, except upon the recommendation

uired in each case. So brushing, interfering, overreaching, forging, bowed tendons, and many other disorders may be produced or prevented. No horse should be sent to the forge un

e saying "first loss is best" applies in this case with force. If a dealer will not take the animal, it is better to send it to the auction block than to h