San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-01-04
AN ENGLISH STABLE.
VARIOUS TYPES OF HORSES DE-
SCRlBED BY AN OWNER.
The Groom's Favorite-The Slashing, Well
Bred but Unsafe Horse-Handsome but
Hardly Sound - Seventeen Years Old.
The wife's Steed-The Hack.


Hardly Sound - Seventeen Years Old.
The wife's Steed-The Hack.
Well, here is a horse with a plain head,
rather a short neck, moderate shoulders, a
good barrel, fair quarters and most excel
lent feet and legs. Feel them and you will
find them cool and even in temperature and
the sinews hard and fine. He is a little want
ing in quality, he is not fast-in fact, in a
quick run, it is all you can do to keep in the
immediate rear of the first flight with him.
He is not exactly a bad hunter, but he gives
his rider the impression that he dislikes
jumping, and he is little slovenly at his
fences. What, then, are his virtues2 He is
the groom's favoritel He is never off his
feed, and he thoroughly masticates his corn.
He is a remarkably sound horse. He never
throws a shoe. He always comes out in his
turn. Never has he been known to tear his
clothing, to kick when being dressed, to eat
his straw, or to commit any other stable
offense. He is easy to box at a railway sta
ton; a child might ride him without a
saddle at exercise; when being clipped or
singed you might take him for statue, so
still does he stand; and he seems positively
to enjoy physic. Accordingly, whenever his
master talks of selling him, the stud groom
protests that it would be a thousand pities,"
that take i'm all and all, he's the best 'oss
we've got"
We next come to great, slashing well bred
horse, with plenty of power. Take carel
Don't go up to him. He sometimes 'lets out"
This is the best hunter in the stable, and he
is as sound as bell. He is very fast and a
grand fencer; bitches on the near side, bitches
on the far side, banks, timber, water all are
the same to him. He will fight for his head
a good deal when hounds first go away; he
pulls, and he does not like to be baked at his
fences. He does not exactly rush at them,
but he is very hot and impetuous. This being
the ase, he is far from pleasant horse in a
cramped country on bad seeming day.
About twice or thrice in a season he strikes
out at other horses land "when he do kick,
he do kick like blazes," as the cabman says
in Leechs caricature) 80 it is not safe to take
him into a crowd. HH is difficult horse to
box, too; so it is inconvenient to take him by
train. Between one thing and another, there
is only about one meet in ten days at which
his present master can ride him with comfort
NOT A SOUND ANIMAL.
"Strip that 'oss," says that official to a
helper as we move on to the next box. This
is the best looking horse in the stable. In
fact, he is remarkably handsome specimen
of a hunter; hence the groom's anxiety to
show him off 1t would be hard to find a
fault with him. He cost something fabulous
Indeed, he is so valuable that his master is
afraid of riding him. This fear is increased
by sundry alarming symptoms that have
manifested themselves from time to time
After one days hunting his near fore leg
filled in suspicious manner; after another
he was lame without any apparent cause;
and in certain run his owner half suspected
that his wind was not so good as it might be-
He has had several bad colds, and occasion
ally he has corns. He comes out pretty
often, at near meets; but his master never
seems to ride hard on him, and he is always
sent home early.
In the next box is a confidential looking
quadruped. The holes above his ewes, his
long teeth, his sunken back and tho manner
in which he stands over betoken age. He is
II years old; nevertheless, be goes on, some
times lame, sometimes sound. He is SO clever
and such an old favorite that his master can
not make up his mind to supplant him with
Younger and more serviceable horse. Excel
lent fencer as he is, no will not, and never
would, face water. His master has to be
careful, too, neither to let him jump down a
drop into hard road nor to send him to
distant meet, nor to make long day with
him Like most very old horses, he has lost
his speed; and he bas become dangerously
clever at his fences, saving himself by creep
ing, jumping on and Off or scrambling in
and out, where one would expect him to fly.
He will probably end his career by giving
his devoted owner very bad fall.
my wIFE'S HORSE"
This our friend shows to us as "my wife's
horse" Heis a model of what lady's horse
ought to be in make and shape, breeding,
temper and manners. Lucky the woman
who possesses such a hunter! Between en-
PERTAINING guests, visits, colds and additions
to the family, my lady gives her horse a
rather easy time of it. Moreover, on the
strength of her husbands having got on her
favorite for an hour on two occasions, the
wife has been heard coolly to assert that she
had not been hunting at all that season, be-
cause she gave up her horse to her husband,
whereas she had in reality been prevented
from hunting by very different reasons. 1t
is scarcely to be wondered at that the hus-
band refrained from riding the cherished
quadruped for the future, and when his wife
suddenly took it into her head to go out
hunting at short notice, the creature was so
playful that madame was almost, if not
quite, unseated. Confidential friends then
expos.ulited with her husband for putting
lady on a brute like that" affirming that
she was not at all the sort of horse for a wo-
man to ride" ETC., etc
Last of all we como to the hack, and very
nice little horse he is. Although only about
fifteen hands and one inch i'll height, he
has great strength, bone enough to carry