138 HUNTING 



end of the fourth field, he will find that his wind is 

 gone, and that he is bumping about on the saddle 

 like a sack of potatoes. Certainly that gallop across 

 the fourth field will have been no pleasure, but 

 rather a toil to him; and, if he has anything the 

 matter with his heart, it may have been dangerous. 

 Yet if he had been sound in wind he would have 

 experienced that keen enjoyment, springing from ting- 

 ling veins and rapid circulation, which only a gallop 

 can give. As it is, he has had about as much fun 

 as. the fat carriage horse of a nervous old lady might 

 be expected to have if he were sent along at racing 

 pace for six furlongs. In hunting it is necessary 

 that the rider as w^ell as the horse should be in 

 condition. 



In these days when people hunt from London and 

 other large towns, it is not surprising to learn that 

 there are many men who never get across a horse 

 except to hunt. Even in the country, where there is 

 less excuse for not taking outdoor exercise, men, 

 whose daily life lies in sedentary pursuits, arrive at 

 covert-side on the opening day in lamentable lack 

 of condition. Such men cannot enjoy their sport, 

 are ridiculous in the eyes of their neighbours, and 

 often meet with nasty falls on account of their own 

 physical weakness. 



Of course, exercise in the saddle is the best training 

 for hunting, as it hardens and strengthens the muscles 

 which we want to use, and, as we have already said, 

 no horse exercise can be better for this purpose than 

 cub-hunting. A man can generally get his morning's 



