366 WITH HOUNDS. 



but must also be a fine judge of pace and ground, so that he 

 may go through a run with the least expenditure of his horse's 

 strength and wind. In doing all this, he should carefully avoid 

 riding over winter wheat, clover, roots, and other crops. 



We may divide hunting men, according to the way they 

 ride after hounds, into four classes, namely : the first flight, 

 who take their own initiative, and who comprise about one- 

 twelfth of a Leicestershire field ; the second flight, who, if 

 they are wise, will use their brethren in front as a line of 

 skirmishers to show them the weak places in the enemy's 

 fortifications ; the men who almost entirely dispense with 

 fences as short cuts, but who, by riding to points and utilising 

 bridle paths and gates, generally manage to see a large portion 

 of the fun ; and the Macadamisers, who stick to the roads. 

 Among these varieties of horsemen, the second flight men are 

 the most likely to accept advice, which certainly should not 

 take the form of recommending a novice to select a pilot out 

 of the front rank ; for if he gives him plenty of room, he 

 will probably lose him, and if he keeps close to him, he will be 

 likely to jump on him, in the event of the man in front 

 coming down. Besides, the galloping capabilities of their 

 horses may be very unequal, and the strain of keeping our 

 man always in view will not be pleasant. In a country 

 which is fairly free from woodland, the best plan is to keep a 

 look-out as far as practicable in front of us, so that we may 

 see, if possible, what hounds are doing, and may thereby be 

 able to cut off corners. In this way, we may be able to 

 obtain the great advantage of seeing how to get out of a field, 

 before jumping into it. 



Nothing betrays the ignorance of a rider more surely or 

 with greater publicity than the fact of his riding his horse to 

 a standstill, or until the unfortunate animal falls down from 

 exhaustion ; for any person with even a slight knowledge of 

 horses will be able to tell when his animal has had enough. 



