THE SADDLE BREEDS OF HORSES 155 



depends on the going and the length of the runs. The 

 Hunter should be jogged home after the hunt, given warm 

 gruel and thoroughly rubbed. A groom should exercise 

 him gently on non-hunting days for about five miles early 

 in the morning. He should be carefully looked after and 

 given the best of oats and hay. The night before he is to 

 be " hunted/' water should be kept in his stall all night, 

 so that he may take it at will. He should be fed very 

 early and saddled only just before he is ordered. 



184 . Steeple-chasers . The Steeple-chaser is almost al- 

 ways a clean-bred horse, that has natural or made adapta- 

 bility to jump. He must be more seasoned than the 

 Thoroughbred that is to run on the flat, and must be up 

 to a good deal more weight. There are certain blood 

 lines that have produced natural jumpers, which, when 

 " nicked " with certain mares, have produced fencers. 

 Many horses that, perhaps, have not enough speed for 

 the flat, have been schooled and made good chasers. Un- 

 like the steady fox-hunting Hunter, the Steeple-chaser 

 must be able to go a good pace and take his fences flying, 

 or almost 'as fast as in a hurdle race. In this type of horse, 

 the adaptability for the special performance and the result 

 gives the horse his place and name as a Steeple- 

 chaser. 



185. Distribution. As hunting has long occupied a 

 place in the sports of nations, horses that may be charac- 

 terized as Hunters are widely distributed. From Ireland, 

 the home of the breed, the Hunter has been scattered over 

 Great Britain and the continent. In 1904, the Dutch gov- 

 ernment bought 350 young mares of this breed in Ireland. 

 In America, both Canada and the United States are de- 

 voting increasing attention to the production of horses for 

 hunting purposes. 



