Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1860-02-24

Form and Action OF Saddle
Horses.

When horseman sits on good roadster
he need not take the trouble to pick his way
when riding down rough country lane OF
over broken ground, because the fore feet OF
clever saddle horse, be the pace, walk, trot
or canter, are always we'll forward, and fall
hattly and evenly on the ground; and when
in action the fore legs are sufficient but not
too much bent, the action coming direct
from the shoulders But the most agreea-
bic feature experienced nj riding perfect sad
die horses is, tbe-eAsc and elasticity with
which they move in their PAGES, thereby
sparing the rider any feeling of fatigue
Not on ly is the number Of packs and hum
ters very limited, but those we have-except
few in the hands of masters of hounds and
members of hunts-are too apt at an early
age to display some Of the infrinites to
which their race are now 80 subject, in tho
shape of curbs, spllnts, and spavlns, conse-
quent upon the hurry the breeders are in to
bring them into the market before they ar
rive at proper working age. Thousands
of capital saddle horses are annually saeri-
feed from this very cause. partly attri-
butte the downward tendency OF our breed of
saddle horses, to the rage for speed, which is
now } prominent feature on the English
] tart; bet when we take into consideration
what long considered and careful selection
on our turf has effected, when the sole OBJ
icct was speed, we may reasonably anticipate
as important and beneficial results from
equally iudicious selection, when our object
is to produce horses possessing that fine union
Of qualities 50 essential to good saddle hors-
cs.
There few people who know what consti-
b-,rs
many asserting that they should be .fne,
meaning by this, lean at the withers. 1t
is however certain that the shoulders OF q
young horse intended to carry weight can
hardly be too thick at that place, provided
they are not too thick at the points or tho
lower ends, while inclining their tops we'll
back and leaving good space between the
end of the name and the pommel Of the sad
die. There is certain cross-bone which
connects the lower end Of the shoulder blades
with the horses fore-legs which very mater
tally affects his action. When this is too
long it throws the fore-legs too much back,
causing the horse to stand over like cart
horse and such an animal, besides being
unpleasant to ride, when at all tired, is very
likely to come down. am here stating
what is well known to good judges, but
write for the many. would also observe
that the form Of shoulders here recommend
only contribute to good action, they alone do
not secure it. Good hind-leg action Is as
important as good action in the tore-legs.--
The hook Joints should bend well, when in
action, bringing the hind feet well forward,
but without striking the fore feet, common.
" called over reaching.
1t is a common practice to pay little atten-
tom to the action Of the hind legs, Sd long
MS the horse possess what Is termed - fine
knee up action =" but all superior horses, OF
whatever breed, are emlnently characterized
by good hind-leg action /; for be the shoul-
dcrs ever So good, unless the action OF the
hind-lcg is also god, the horse Is uneasy to
ride, because the action Of the two sets Of
legs are not properly balanced, and, no mat
ter how accomplished the rider may be, 1t Is
with difficulty he can accommodate his seat
to the action Of such horse. Such horse
is unsafe to ride, and his rider, if Judge of
iJn, feels that he is So but If the action
Of the hind and fore legs be properly bal
anced, the rider feels his horse firm under
him, and that he cannot very well come
down Indeed, in this case he seems to DC
riding up hal, while under opposite circum-
stances he seems to be riding d0ea hill
One important point which | consider has
been gained by the breeding of horses for
speed IS, the great length between the hip
bone and the hook, as exhibited in the grey
hound although the'posse6siUn Of this point
is not 50 absolutely necessary, yet |, for one,
should be inclined to give It's posoessor the
preference for a hunter Of the present day,
ior the horse either is, OF ought to be, capa-
bic Of great speed. But our hunter had not
formerly this shape, and did not So much re-
quirc it. There Is, however, one objection
against any c1eeSsire length between hip and
mock, which Is, that it frequently causes
over-rcach, most disasreeabIe intrmty for
either hunter or roadster. A horse hips
should be wide, to carry weight, and his
loins highly muscular, but the lower ends Of
his shoulders should be light. His chest
cannot be too full, but it may lie too wide
for speed, as well as for agreeable action,
causinga rolling motion, very unpleasant to
the rider.
Great depth Of chest is a powerful recon-
mendation, and the ribs before the girths
cannot be too long, but the back ribs (when
much speed is required) should be rather
short. For very tine action, the shoulder
blades must be long, while they cannot be 30
without inelining well back. II horse 70
formed has good hind-leg action, he will be
very valuable as an active weight-cawying
cob, because this iorm Of shoulders is, re-
gret u say now rarely to be found among
our saddle horses, is in the majority of them
that come within the pale Of moderate
price, the girths are continually slipping for
ward, causing the rider to Sit on the horse
withers rather than on his back and this
is one cause Of horses falling down, as
the weight Of the rider pressing on the top
of their shoulders seriously interieres with
their free action, and when they make a
slight tumble it is the next TO impossible to
recover their feet. Tie best height for hors-
cs intended as hacks Of the FIRST class, is
about Is hands. Tall horses are not b good
for hacks as those Of lower stature, as they
d. not move with 81 much ease and lisltness
wearing their legs more, and causing moro
fatigue to their RIDERS. The majority of tall
horses are nova days tall only because they
have long legs, which are very Objectionable
as they never wear well, and are mostly al
lied with very shallow body, These hors-
es NAV do well enough when q showy ap-
pearance is the only object in view but
they are not calculated for hard work, or to
ride in hilly country. may dismiss this
subject by remarking that would not ad-
vipe the purchaser to REJECT horse just be-
cause he does not happen to possess all tho
good qualities | have here recommended, as
they will remember the old adage, :" That
there never was a perfect horse. London