No gentleman should purchase a horse without a good trial of his mouth and temper. To be perfect in the first respect, he should be what is called on the road “a cheek horse,”--that is, should require very little curb, should always be at play with his bit. and yet not afraid of it, and should have each side of his mouth alike. To a gentleman’s leader, a good mouth is most essential, and then, the higher his courage, the safer he is to drive. With stage-coach horses, mouth is not of so much consequence, because they are always running home, and there is no turning and twisting, as in gentlemen’s work, which is often in a crowd. A whistle, or a click with the tongue, should make a gentleman’s leader spring to his collar in an instant: one that requires the whip should be discharged. With wheel horses which are steady, and hold well, a coachman may almost set his leaders at defiance; but if they are otherwise, danger is at hand. It is not a bad plan to purchase wheelers out of coaches, after they have been about six months in regular work. For from sixty to eighty guineas, the best of any man’s stock may be picked; and a sound, well-broke coach-horse is not dear at that price. The coach-horses of gentlemen should be high in flesh, as it enhances their appearance, and is no obstacle to pace. A sound five-year-old horse, with good legs and feet, and driven only in harness, will last, on an average, from six to ten years in gentlemen’s work, and will afterwards be very useful for other purposes. The average price of horses for fast stages is about 23_l._ Fancy teams, and those working out of London, may be rated considerably higher; but, taking a hundred miles of ground, well horsed, this is about the mark. The average period of each horse’s service does not exceed four years in a fast coach--perhaps scarcely so much. In a slow one, it may extend to seven. In both cases, horses are supposed to be put to the work at five or six years old. The price named as the average may appear a low one; but blemished horses find their way into coaches, as do those of bad temper, &c. As no labour, while it lasts, is harder than that of coach-horses in fast work, it is wrong to purchase those which are infirm, as many proprietors do. Generally speaking, such horses are out of their work half their time, and are certain to die in their owner’s debt. As the roads now are, blind horses are less objectionable than infirm ones. A blind horse that goes up to his bit is both pleasanter and safer to drive than one with good eyes that hangs away from his work. Blind horses, however, work best in the night.