86 HUNTING 



intending purchaser is known personally to the dealer, 

 the dealer will probably object to this stipulation ; but 

 as most dealers are willing to let out hunters on hire to 

 probable customers, the objection can be easily sur- 

 mounted by hiring the horse. We do not believe that 

 it is possible to judge the qualities of a hunter without 

 riding him to hounds. Besides, we must recollect that 

 in hunting there exists a partnership between the 

 rider and the horse, and that it is within the range of 

 probabilities that the horse may object to the partner- 

 ship. The price which the novice should pay the 

 dealer for the hire of a horse for a quiet day's hunting 

 must depend upon the extent of the dealer's business, 

 the weight of the rider, and the reputation of the 

 hunt ; but it should never exceed two guineas. 



Even if the length of his purse will not permit the 

 novice to buy thoroughbred horses, he should be 

 careful to see that the dam was well-bred. A thorough- 

 bred mare and an underbred horse will produce a better 

 foal than a thoroughbred horse and an underbred mare. 

 Many explanations of this fact have been given in- 

 volving the natural laws of heredity ; but apart from 

 heredity, we think that the foal learns a good deal from 

 its mother after parturition in the paddock. At any 

 rate, it is a curious coincidence that foals not only 

 inherit the jumping qualities of their dams, but very 

 often their jumping cleverness as well. Therefore, in 

 buying young horses it is always well to find out what 

 sort of character for jumping the dams had. If the 

 dam possessed the trick of going hard at her fences, 

 and suddenly swerving in her last stride, for no tangible 

 reason, the foal will probably possess it as well. It is 



