THE HUNTER 



SELECTION— CONFORMATION— AGE 

 BY FRANK TOWNEND BARTON 



PROBABLY there is no other class of horse 

 that requires the exercise of so much sound 

 judgment as that appertaining to the 

 selection of the hunter. 



Keen perceptive powers, combined with ability 

 to try the animal as to its suitability to the country 

 in which it has to be used, are indispensable. 



A hunter may perform its work satisfactorily in 

 one country, but, when taken into another, may give 

 an indifferent, if not a bad account of itself : thus, 

 for instance, the stiff fences in the Melton country 

 present obstacles not equalled in any other. 



In selecting a hunter, colour seldom plays any part, 

 and one sees horses of almost every colour in the 

 hunting field ; the old maxim coming into play " that 

 a good horse can never be a bad colour " ; though, 

 of course, individual preference sometimes dominates. 



Bay, brown, light or dark chestnut, and grey are 

 the principal colours, more especially bay and brown, 

 with either white or black points : most chestnuts 

 have white, usually about the legs. 



With reference to age and height, much will depend 

 upon circumstances. Weight-carrying hunters are 



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