244 CENTURY OF ENGLISH FOX-HUNTING 



13 feet, and the dimensions for a stall are 13 feet by 

 8 feet. Thus the difference is only 5 feet. 



I have only one more comparison to make in re- 

 gard to the structure of a stable. Now, in regard 

 to the slope of the surface of a stall, even the late 

 Duke of Beaufort stated that the surface ought to 

 be flat, as was the custom at the beginning of the 

 century. The modern opinion is that the gradient 

 should be 5| inches in 13 feet. This opinion was 

 founded on experience. Thus, if the rider wants to 

 stand still by covert-side, and leaves the position to 

 the horse, he will choose to place his forelegs on an 

 elevation on a proportionate gradient to the one 

 I have given with his hindlegs. Therefore this 

 position must be the most natural and most comfort- 

 able one for the horse. Moreover, when the surface 

 is flat, horses contract that most pernicious habit of 

 "standing over." 



Having completed these comparisons between the 

 old and the new ideas of the structure of a stable, 

 and hoping that these comparisons will enable my 

 readers to make certain alterations in their old stables 

 without incurring a great expense, I will proceed to 

 the fixtures of a stable. It is difficult to conceive 

 why the hunting men at the beginning of the century 

 should not have paid more attention to the internal 

 arrangements of their stables. Their stall partitions 

 were made of common deal instead of oak or pitch- 

 pine, and their pillar-reins were common rope instead 

 of stout leather. Some people prefer chains to stout 



