66 The Management and Treatment of the Morse, 



above all his joints should be strong, firm, and closely 

 knit. His legs and pasterns should be rather short, and 

 the cannon flat, the feet rather large and sound. Horses 

 with round legs never wear, and are sure to go lame; long 

 hind-legged horses can never gallop down hill or take 

 bold leaps with weight on their backs without flounder- 

 ing and coming to grief. Having found both mare and 

 horse good, we may naturally expect a good foal, and to 

 make a good foal a clever hunter, we must commence 

 with it at his mother's side, by handling as previously 

 described. We have to bring out its jumping powers, 

 as it is this point on which much of its value depends, 

 so we must teach it to jump naturally. For this purpose 

 we feed the mare in a yard, and at the gateway lay down 

 a row of faggots, hazel, or soft wood ; never put thorns so 

 that the mare and foal have to jump over them every 

 time they go to feed. This should be continued as long 

 as the foal is at its mother's side. After it is taken away 

 from the mare, the jump can be gradually heightened 

 and widened, until it has a square yard to clear, then it 

 must be doubled by placing another row of faggots in 

 front of the first, making the two about eight feet apart, 

 letting the foal have to jump in and out like a cat. Next 

 use it to go down a made road with a ditch cut across, 

 and a bank made of the earth cut from the ditch. If 

 these tactics are followed up you will have a natural 

 jumper before the saddle is put on his back; but upon 

 no account let boys have anything to do with it, as 

 they will drive the foal to see it jump, and there is more 

 harm done in fun than hard work. When the young 

 horse is put to fences, after it is properly broken to the 



