Mr. J. M. Richardson's Writings Collated 



high-bred members of the canine species would appear well- 

 nigh incredible. For example, a hound often inherits the 

 habit of trotting to covert always in front of the pack. A still 

 more extraordinary instance of heredity came to my knowledge 

 only the other day. The Bel voir Ragman walked by Mr. 

 Cooper, of Waltham, used to have the knack of lifting up the 

 catch of the kitchen door, and this year one of his sons does 

 precisely the same thing. The value of a hound is not to be 

 judged by his looks, but by his work, and to combine the two 

 should be the aim and pride of every master of hounds. How 

 any one going into a kennel can possibly put a value on hounds 

 without having first seen them in the field quite passes my 

 comprehension. You might just as well try and value a hunter 

 without having seen him go. 



Horses. 



What a comfort it is to a hunting man to have a healthy 

 stable, and a good stud groom — himself a good horseman, with 

 hands of the best — to look after them ! How essential, too, it 

 must be to ride well-bred horses ! When hunting with a pack 

 of hounds that are carefully bred in the kennel, and skilfully 

 managed in the field, not only must our horses be of good 

 quality, but in perfect condition as well. Needless to say, this 

 is where the good stud groom comes in. More frequently than 

 not, in spite of many opinions to the contrary, steeplechase 

 horses have proved most excellent hunters. Gay Lad, Peter 

 Simple, and Half-Caste — the first and last of whom were 

 Liverpool winners — were all three bred in my old village of 

 Limber, and regularly ridden with Lord Yarborough's hounds, 

 whilst in later days, Reugny, whom I bought for Captain 

 Machell from the late Lord Aylesford, was frequently ridden 



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