Here’s the third part of our look at the chapter related to driving horses in a horse-care book from 1731. If you’re just joining us, you can scroll down or click through to read parts one and two.

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“Nothing looks more graceful than to see a coach drawn by managed* horses; but these are chiefly fit to make an appearance and not for drudgery. The lessons in the manage* make them struke with such force upon the ground that they are very apt to have their feet battered, especially in the roads about London, where there are so many sharp stones, which in the summer-time lie very loose, so that a managed* horse cannot move with stability, but is exposed to diverse accidents. And in winter the tracks are in many places so narrow that they have not sufficient play; and some places so mirey, that they throw up the dirt intolerably; and therefore, those who have a set of managed* horses for their coaches ought always to have another for labor and drudgery.”

* “manage” is an old term that refers to the paces of a trained horse

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I’ll post the fourth (final) part tomorrow …