Let's go horse hunting!

You've had a brief glimpse of a horse show and you know what fun it would be if you could ride in one yourself. Besides, you love horses and there isn't anything you wouldn't do to have one of your own: you'd prom­ise to finish all your homework, keep your room in order, help with the dishes and other chores, be quiet and polite—and attend to all the things your parents remind you of during those moments when you know you aren't at your best. And you're deter­mined to keep those promises for such a reward. So let's look around to see if we can find the right mount for you.

"But hold on there a minute," you may be thinking right now. "Horses are wildly expensive, for one thing, and besides—what if my riding ability isn't so hot?"

Your fears on both counts are groundless! It seems as if horses must be expensive because probably the only ones you've heard about are the famous ones—race horses or champion show horses whose prices commonly run into many thousands of dollars. But there is a vast selection within the range of average-income families. These are the horses which give fun and friendship to thousands of chil­dren—and to grownups as well—all over the country.

For only fifty dollars you can get your own horse. He'll be a skinny, unkempt-looking animal, but you can feed and curry him back to health and turn him into a perfectly suitable family mount. And there's always the chance that he may turn into a champion. Every now and again a weary-looking animal is rescued from misfortune by some keen-eyed horse­man—and soon that very horse is discovered to be a fabulous jumper who secures triumphs and trophies for his owner.

For one hundred to one hundred-and-fifty dollars you can get a quiet, sound animal which would probably be outclassed at bigger shows but which would do well enough for you in small country shows—in 'hack' (trail horse) and horsemanship classes.

If your family can afford it, about three hundred dollars is a good amount to count on spending. At that price, you can shop around a little and find yourself a horse with plenty of promise—one that will do well in shows but will not be too high-strung or frisky for a youngster to handle.

However, if you don't think you can afford any outlay for buying a horse but you can afford to keep him (that is, feed and stable him), and if you have paddock space for him, there's another possible solution. Don't buy a horse at all; instead, get in touch with a large summer camp or riding academy and offer to take care of one of their horses after the camp season is over. Many camps realize how much young people love horses—and they would much rather have their animals given the attentive care of a loving child than send them off to public stables during the winter. For ten months of the year you'll have your own horse—and you won't have to pay a cent beyond his keep to get him.

Naturally it's helpful if you know your way around on a horse a bit be­cause then you can see for yourself whether or not you like the gaits of the horse you are considering. You are in a position to rely on your own feelings for the horse's possibilities rather than on the opinion of a friend. Still, it isn't absolutely necessary for you to know how to ride before you buy. In fact, a quiet horse of your own —one that becomes used to you and fond of you—will help you improve your ability faster than practice on the sluggish, indifferent creatures you often come across at stables.

Now let's get down to the business of finding the right horse for you. Where do we look? Preferably at a breeding farm, a place which makes a business of the buying, breeding, rais­ing, training, and selling of horses. First of all, a breeding farm will have a wider range of animals for you to choose from than any other source. Second, a successful horse breeder de­pends on his reputation. It is true that horse traders are apt to drive a hard bargain, but a breeder of fine horses will not deliberately set out to cheat you. Selling horses is this man's sole livelihood, and if word gets around that he's a shady dealer, he'll soon have no buyers. At a farm you can look over the horse of your choice at leisure, see how he behaves around the barn and with other horses, watch him being bridled and saddled, per­haps go back two or three times to get acquainted with him, and generally not feel rushed into buying him.

Off to trails winding through rolling hills

Thoroughbreds and foals enjoy brisk run

Private riding academies are also good places to hunt for a horse—es­pecially if you know the owner of a stable and have confidence in his abil­ity to find a suitable horse for you.

Auctions are a third place for the buyer to hunt—but this is risky for the average person. Sales move fast, the horses are shown quickly, and you simply don't have a good chance to see what you are getting. Experienced horse traders can get good bargains at auctions, but such sales are usually too tricky for the unskilled buyer.

Once you have located a breeding farm near you and a couple of riding academies where you can get a look at what each has to offer, it's time to ask yourself a few questions—questions which only you can answer. For ex­ample, do you want a horse just for you or one that the whole family can ride? Do you want an older, fully trained horse? Or do you ride well enough to be able to train a relatively unschooled horse? Whatever you de­cide, make it clear to the person show­ing you his animals that you want a quiet, mannerly mount. Then take your time to look over the field—and, as an added safeguard, take an expe­rienced friend with you. Getting ex­pert guidance in selecting your horse is vital. Find someone who not only rides well but who is a good horse­man—a person familiar with the handling of horses, who can judge accu­rately the kind of horse best suited to you.

Joan Draper goes over a brush fence on perfectly formed hunter Silver Science

Young horses tussle fondly while trying to shed halters they aren't yet used to

Then, once you and your adviser have selected a horse, ask the breeder's or the stable owner's permission to have an animal doctor, or veteri­narian, look the animal over. When you have the vet's okay, go ahead and buy your own horse.

Let us suppose you are looking for a hunter. Because hunters, both in chasing the fox on a real hunt and in taking the fences in a show, require speed and stamina and jumping abil­ity, ideally you would try to buy a Thoroughbred. The Thoroughbred is a specific breed of horse, not to be con­fused with the term 'purebred,' which may be applied to any breed of horse and simply means that a horse is of pure bloodline. Through selective breeding, Thoroughbreds of today are horses of incomparable speed and courage—desirable qualities in a hunter. No horse can outrun a good Thoroughbred, but a hunter needs jumping power as well as speed. For that reason, hunters used in especially rough country often have more than a drop of draft-horse blood in them. Admittedly, for $300 you may not find a sound Thoroughbred, but you will be able to find a horse with Thorough­bred blood in him, and one that has many of the same characteristics.

His head should be wide between the eyes and should narrow down to a fine muzzle with large nostrils. (See chart p. 10.) His nose should be rela­tively straight, neither arching prominently outward (a 'Roman' nose) nor curving greatly inward (a 'dished' face).

This solid hunter shows many traits to look for, especially the well-built head and neck

The point where the head and neck join should be lean, and the horse's windpipe clearly defined. His neck should be long and slightly arched, and his shoulder long and sloping; this shoulder formation is important for it means a smooth, lengthy stride. There should be good depth along the girth line—between the withers, that prominent bump at the base of the horse's neck, and chest. The horse's back should be rather short and his hind quarters slanting rather than boxy. Just be­hind the shoulders his ribs ought to be more or less flat, but they should become more rounded as they_con-tinue back towards his rump. (Now turn to your chart.) His cannon bones should be short and strong, his pas­terns fairly long and flexible, and his knees and hocks should be thick and sturdy. These are all parts of the horse's legs and their locations are illustrated clearly in the chart on page 10. His muscles should appear smooth and flat and, generally speak­ing, his bones should be long and light.

You must realize that these are ideal qualities. Don't expect to find all of them in the horse you can afford to buy. When you find a horse who has many of these good points, he should be 'tried out' so that you will know if his gaits are easygoing and com­fortable, and if he is able to maintain a smooth, even speed when jumping.

The exact opposite of the fast, rangy Thoroughbred is the American Saddle Horse. Just as the Thorough­bred is a specific breed of horse and not a purebred animal of any given strain, so the Saddle Horse is a specific breed and not simply any horse broken to saddle and bridle.

There are two chief types of Saddle Horse—the three-gaited and the five-gaited. The three-gaited saddler is shown with his mane clipped off en­tirely and his tail shortened and shaved at the top. He performs the three natural gaits—the walk, trot and canter. (A canter is actually a collected gallop. Some horsemen main­tain that the three natural gaits are the walk, trot and gallop, and that the canter is an artificial, or taught, gait. But nowadays most people agree that the canter is a natural gait.)

The five-gaited horse is usually shown with a long flowing mane and tail (p. 31) and, in addition to being able to walk, trot and canter, he per­forms two extra 'artificial' gaits—the slow gait and the rack. How are these two different from the natural gaits ? Well, in a trot the horse automatically moves his diagonal legs at the same time. The left rear leg and the right foreleg rise and then hit the ground simultaneously. Pacers move both legs on the same side together. The right rear and the right fore leg rise and land at the same time. But the pace is a highly uncomfortable gait and is used only when a pacer draws a sulky, or small racing cart. In the rack the horse's rear legs pace while his fore­legs trot. Confused? It's hard to pic­ture the separate actions of a horse's legs. The important thing to know is that the rack should be a very com­fortable gait which the rider sits to, just as he sits to a walk or a canter. The slow gait is merely a slow rack.

Both types of Saddle Horse are compact and generally smaller than the Thoroughbred—but they are not chunky animals. Their conformation (appearance) is elegant and showy. The saddler has a small, proudly held head, an exceptionally long and highly arched neck, and his arched tail is set high. His back is very straight and noticeably shorter than that of a Thor­oughbred, and his legs are set well under his body. His shoulder is well slanted and his pasterns are very long and flexible, allowing the horse to have good action in his legs. Along the barrel, he is round, and his hind quarters are full and round—not slop­ing like the quarters of the hunters.

The Saddle Horse is bred for the show ring, so when you're looking around for one to buy, you should bear in mind these two points. First, he should be highly trained in picking up his gaits on demand from the rider and responding to the rider's signals. It takes a good deal of skill to handle a spirited saddler, for these show horses often develop tough mouths and a tendency to pull at the bit. Still, a Saddle Horse should be adept at the technicalities involved in his perform­ance. He should not trot before taking the canter nor show reluctance upon being asked to rack.

A five-gaited horse with flowing mane and tail performs at a rack. The head is held high, the neck arched, the legs lift gracefully with the long flexible pasterns guarded by boots

A perfect example of one of the South's loveliest products—the easy, smooth-gaited Tennessee Walker

Second, a good Saddle Horse should have a feeling of beauty and grace about him. He should look as if he were "the master of all he surveys." Unlike the hunter, speed and handi-ness are no objects. The Saddle Horse should never extend himself outward in his motion, for instead of spending his energy covering ground, he spends it adding height to the movement of his legs. He should lift his feet high and should be able to "canter all day in the shade of an old apple tree."

The country cousin of the Saddle Horse is the Tennessee Walking Horse —and a more comfortable ride can't be found. The Walking Horse is fa­mous for his running walk, and the only thing a rider could find more re­laxing than this gait is perhaps the luxury of a rocking chair. Believe it or not, a rocking chair is exactly what riding the running walk feels like!

In appearance the Walker is much like the five-gaited horse. He has the same characteristics but they are not carried to such extremes. His neck is arched but not nearly so much so as the Saddle Horse's. He has long, flexible pasterns and a certain amount of height and action in the movement of his legs—but there is a more leisurely, relaxed feeling about his movement.

Morgans can look like American Saddle Horses

He shows none of the nervous, tense collection of the Saddle Horse in his canter and no intense effort to elevate his legs to the same heights. For these reasons, he is a much more enjoyable pleasure horse or 'hack' than the saddler and makes a truly perfect mount for a beginning rider. He's calm and quiet and has a pleasant dis­position. In addition, he is easy to ride. What more could you ask?

One of the most versatile and de­sirable mounts for any young rider is the Morgan. All Morgans descend from one stallion whose name was Jus­tin Morgan—the name of his owner —and this is the only breed to be named after one horse. Justin Mor­gan (the horse) showed astounding ability to adapt to a great variety of chores. He had the pulling strength of a draft horse, the speed of horses with good Thoroughbred blood in them, the flash of a Saddle Horse. Furthermore, this, founding sire passed on his characteristics to his descendants with amazing consistency. Today's Morgans have his very traits.

In temperament the Morgan is ideal.

Handsome pair of Morgans here ridden saddle seat show characteristic, powerful chests and necks

He has great courage and stamina and a gentle, mild disposition. He is a small horse—usually between four­teen and fifteen hands high (a 'hand' is the measurement used in indicating the height of horses and equals four inches). Because he is small, chil­dren enjoy the Morgan, yet he is strong enough to carry light adults. The most noticeable point in the conformation of the Morgan is his sturdy, tapering, highly arched neck. His shoulders are also forceful-look­ing and well muscled, and he has great width at the 'brisket,' or chest. His head is small and delicate, and he has fine ears set well apart. His legs are rather short, and his mane and tail are thick and lustrous. In color, Morgans most frequently run to browns and bays with a few white markings, but there are also black and chestnut-colored Morgans—the chestnut often having some white marking.

Now we come to the grandfather of all light horses—the Arabian. (See p. 35.) Virtually all Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, Morgans (and many others) owe their development to the swift, graceful monarch of the desert, and his qualities have found their way to every part of the world.

Note slightly 'dish' face that marks this colt as an Arabian

Springtime, and this herd of Westerns moves toward a favorite watering spot

Width between the eyes and pointed ears prove the Arabian blood in this horse

His speed and stamina were passed on to the Thoroughbreds but countless other strains are the heirs to his heroic en­durance, his beauty and his phenome­nal intelligence. He is a truly distin­guished animal and is so treasured by Arab riders that he is often taken into the tent of his owner and treated as a friend.

Many points of the Arabian's con­formation set him off from other horses, and when you look at him, you'll see that the shape of his head is one of the most obvious. His face curves in and is what we call 'dished.' His ears are curved and point toward each other at the tips so that they nearly touch. His eyes are large and protruding, giving him a wide area of vision, and they are set lower on his face than other horses' eyes. The Ara­bian's muzzle is fine, delicate and his jaw is deep. His back is also a distinc­tive feature, for it is unusually short.

When you consider the compactness of the rest of his body, the Arab's hindquarters seem rather long—and this contributes to his great speed. Swiftness also comes from the bone structure of his legs: his cannon bones are short and thick—a highly desir­able quality in a speed horse.

The Arab's nature is gentle and in­telligent. He can subsist on little food and is known to have great resistance to diseases—especially ailments affect­ing his breathing. In shows he usually performs at a walk, trot and canter and, as he circles the ring, you'll im­mediately notice his proud, aristo­cratic bearing.

Now, these are the chief show horses ridden in most shows and suit­able for most young riders. Choose carefully and remember to get the ad­vice of a veterinarian before conclud­ing the deal. Then waste no more time. Buy the horse, prepare for the best time of your life, and enjoy it with all your heart.

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