In height he may be about 16 to 16.1, and when buying, remember that there is a certain class of horse which looks much smaller than it really is. This is the animal with a large body on short legs, which has the large bone, the good barrel, and the large knees and feet of one that stands much higher.
Whether you have one of these, or an upstanding creature which looks all, and perhaps, more than he is, let him be as near thoroughbred as you can afford to buy him. I think, myself, as I have said, that old horses are on the whole safer to ride than young ones, though of course if anything does go wrong with them, they have not the power of recovery that a younger one has. A saying of that good judge Whyte Melville is worth remembering. He was speaking of the horses that would be at the end of a long run, and said, "it will always be found that one or more of these is a thoroughbred, an old horse, and under 15.2," and is ridden by a lightweight, he might have added. At any rate our lightweight is one point in our favour, and another is our light-hands. I am firmly of opinion that in the matter of hands we distinctly score in comparison with our husbands and brothers, who in so many ways have the best of it in the saddle. For every man who possesses the coveted "hands," you will find half-a-dozen women who have them. We are too, quicker as a rule, to grasp a situation, or to anticipate an impending fall, and indeed, if we were not, we should rarely have time to free ourselves and get clear of our horse, for unless we are ready when the time comes we have no chance of escape, as those have who can save themselves on either side, when they feel their horses going.
SILVER DOCTOR
(By Death or Glory.)
The property of Mrs. T. E. Harrison. 1st Prize, Dublin Horse Show, 1897, and winner of 15 first prizes in Ireland.
It is difficult to say what price you would have to give for animals such as these, but any coming with a good character from a known stable, would probably cost from £150 to £300, and if you can afford it the money would be well spent. With two good all-round horses, such as I have attempted to describe, a woman would see more sport than with three or four inferior ones to carry her. They will come out sooner than less well-bred ones, and by good management and having both out with hounds, their owner should be able to get two days a week with them. Wherever possible I should always advise women to have out two horses, for this plan not only economises horse flesh, but is an immense saving of fatigue to them, as nothing is more tiring than to ride a weary horse. An intelligent groom should know how to pick up hounds in the middle of the day, if they should be anywhere near home, and though in the case of a great run this would be out of the question, then the enjoyment of the long gallop will have to make up to them for the days when the horse will not be able to come out.
But inasmuch as many of us know by mournful experience that we cannot afford to buy the best in the way of horse flesh, let us consider what we can forego without risk to life or limb.
1. We may dispense with size, because if a light weight, we can ride horses that would not carry the average man. This at once lessens the price, as the demand is of course much smaller, and for £60 or £80, or even less, you might meet with a serviceable and pleasant mount. Of course to the few women who weigh as much or more than a man this cannot apply, and indeed, for such I may say frankly that I know of no way in which they can mount themselves with safety, except by buying the best horses that money can procure.
2. The second way in which, if we must cut down our prices, we can do so fairly safely, is in having less of strength behind the saddle. Not that I would advise a horse with weak quarters under any circumstances, but while the qualifications in front of the saddle of which I have spoken are indispensable, I believe, if we do not ride over eleven stone, we may make some sacrifice in the matter of power behind the saddle. Those horses which are too light behind to carry heavy weights with safety are often very pleasant to ride, and we may meet with them at a very reasonable price.