HINTS ABOUT SCHOOLING HUNTERS 167 



what do we want as the result of our schooling? 

 " Quiet to hounds," is the usual term in vogue with the 

 professional dealer, which means that the horse is a 

 spiritless brute, never seen in a good place, and one 

 that certainly never gets through a good run with 

 credit to himself and satisfaction to his rider. Such 

 a quadruped is no more a good hunter than the pulling, 

 bolting, and refusing animals, which preponderate in 

 every large field of horsemen. We require neither 

 " quiet " horses nor horses of the tearing, rake-away 

 type. We want a " good-mannered " hunter with pace 

 and stamina to live with hounds, in a quick thing 

 or in a slow hunting run. A good-mannered hunter 

 is described by " Marmaduke " as follows : " He is a 

 horse that always answers to his rider's hand, that does 

 not make a rash bolt when some other horse comes 

 galloping past him, and that jumps his fences, no 

 matter what they may be, in collected form, and in 

 the style with which they should be jumped." Such 

 is the standard of excellence which the tutor of hunters 

 must endeavour to attain. 



Except to handle him gently, and make him 

 accustomed to the sight and voice of his future human 

 master or mistress, his education need not be begun 

 till he is a full-grown yearling, i.e. twelve months old, 

 and not a yearling according to Jockey Club Eules. 

 Thence, until he is a two-year-old, he must be frequently 

 led about, and handled every day, for not only is a 

 horse one of the most nervous animals in creation, but 

 the higher - spirited he is, the more nervous he is. 

 In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, refractory 



